Red Rain
by fanficfanatic940
Summary: Disaster after disaster finally convince Shikamaru to leave Konoha behind for good. But when the rest of the Konoha 11 go up against a new organization of S class missing nin, how will they react knowing one of their own is now a member?  ShikaIno
1. Prologue

**Author's Notes: No, I don't own Naruto or any characters contained within this story (the exception being any and all of my own creation). This story is AU after Chapter 365 or so of the manga, and more or less neglects the anime-only filler that occurs before Naruto Shippuden begins. Some passages I may edit after more of the canonical plot is revealed, but it won't have much affect on the main storyline. If there are any special alerts that I need to make, I'll post them in my bio; otherwise, expect Chapter 1 up by August 19 (possibly earlier, if I receive such support). ShikaIno (among others). If you enjoy this fic (or even if you don't, but have positive criticism for me), please review! Thanks for reading!**

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Downcast eyes were all that greeted the first gray sheets of winter rain that stained the stones with moisture. It was an unwelcome hallmark of the bottom of the year. In the park, leisurely games of shogi were called off, and children were ushered by their wrists back home. Bubbling puddles sprouted inside ditches, filling and overflowing beneath the feet of the unappreciative community that had looked forward to a comparatively warm, sunny day, but were now subject to the limitless ammunition of Mother Nature. Winter had befallen Konoha. How troublesome. 

The stampede of retreating park-goers sidestepped a lone boy remaining seated on the grass, raking the spongy earth with his fingertips. His sour face was covered by a sheet of dripping moisture, as were the clothes plastered tightly against his body. Nara Shikamaru cursed his luck. Although now a busy chuunin at fourteen, he still found entire days to stare into the sky and watch the clouds; this was supposed to be one of those days. It was his last, too. Tomorrow he was off on a mission, and he wasn't sure when he would be back. Even as team captain, he was never told assignment details until the last minute. He knew it was to be a particularly difficult case, however, so maybe the inclement weather was really a godsend; Shikamaru hated to admit that he had important things to do today.

His old Team 10 no longer consisted of a four-man cell of teacher and students. A year after Shikamaru had become a chuunin, Chouji and Ino had followed suit, along with most of the Konoha 12 (although their members now numbered ten, as Sasuke had ran off and Naruto was out training). Asuma-sensei had treated the three of them to dinner the next night as their last outing as a fully assembled team, before pulling them aside to tell them they would now be made captains of their own four-man cells, as were all newly-appointed chuunin. When they met their new partners the next day, Shikamaru was surprised to see that we was taking charge over much more experienced shinobi than he was. Within only six months, he had helped the team establish an impressive mission completion record, even bringing down an S-rank missing-nin in minutes. It was this record that convinced the Godaime Hokage to keep their team intact in a time when most shinobi were placed in specialty squads created for each mission. This was especially true for the two jounin placed under Shikamaru's guidance. At first, they were put off by the difference in age and rank between themselves and their captain, but their minds were quickly changed the first time Shikamaru took charge during a battle on an A-rank escort mission to Kusagakure. It was true that he still had a ways to go in terms of physical strength and battle power, but his mental prowess was already known far beyond the gates of Konoha.

"Hey! Shikamaru!" The boy cringed at the voice that jarred him from his thoughts. He didn't want to turn around to find its source, because he already knew who it was, and the unpleasant feeling of his wet clothing against his body prohibited his movement in lieu of greater discomfort. He soon found that he didn't need to look anyway. A pair of annoyed blue eyes appeared to his side, chastising him soundlessly, asking him a thousand nagging questions without uttering a single word. Sometimes Shikamaru hated those eyes. Or rather, he hated what he knew would inevitably follow them.

"What the _hell_ are you doing out here in the rain, Shikamaru? You'll catch a cold if you stay out here too long." Others may have found her concern flattering, even if it was little more than nagging, but Shikamaru felt that he knew better. "It's a good thing I found you out here. Is it too much work to even get out of the rain? I swear, sometimes…"

Shikamaru grunted. "Ino, I'm sure you have more important things to do than yell at me. Don't you have to fill out a debriefing form for your last mission?" Chouji and Shikamaru had gone out for lunch earlier, where they had caught up on a lot of things that they missed during the month they didn't see each other; among those discussed where the other two members of the former Team 10, whom they hadn't seen in an equally long time. Shikamaru hated to admit that it was a disappointment not to have talked to them. He and Ino may have argued from time to time, but they were still a team. If no longer superficially, then in spirit.

Shikamaru suddenly noticed that the blonde kunoichi was silent, her lips slightly pursed together. She was staring into the distance, seemingly oblivious to the rain that glued her hair to her face and shoulders. He found himself slightly surprised that she wasn't complaining about what this would do to her image. It was also for this reason that he realized something was wrong.

"Hey," he said, noticing her jump slightly. She turned and cocked her head with a grin. Nice, big fake smile. Subtly different from her other fake smiles. He had grown to notice them well.

"What is it?" She put her hands on her hips and leaned forward with a playful cuteness.

Shikamaru could feel his waterlogged joints locking up as he stood and placed his hands in his pockets. He rocked on his heels, turning to face Ino. "Do you wanna get out of this rain?" he asked, noting the unexpected surprise in her eyes. He added, "We _are_ getting kind of wet out here. Pain in the ass, if you ask me." She stared into his eyes for a long moment, and Shikamaru knew then that something was definitely troubling her. His social skills were far inferior to his tactical genius, but even he could figure out that one of his best friends needed to let something off her chest. After a few seconds, she nodded and followed him.

The rain was beyond pouring buckets at this point, the atmosphere having traded in air for water. Shikamaru mused over how the mud seemed to explode under heaven's constant barrage. He knew that they needed to get out of it as soon as they could, for fear they could both catch a cold, so he turned and led her toward one of the largest trees in the park, which happened to be his favorite to sit under while staring at the clouds. Convenient.

"So?"

Ino tossed him a quizzical look. "So… what?"

"What's wrong?"

Ino whirled around in surprise, which caused Shikamaru to arch an eyebrow. "Wrong? What do you mean? Why do you think something's wrong?"

Women were so difficult, Shikamaru thought, shaking his head. Especially Ino. He began to pace around with his shoulders slouched. "I'm not an idiot, Ino," he said quietly, looking back at her.

"No… No you're not, huh?" She looked away as if into the distance, but anything past the edges of the tree branches were indiscernible in the downpour. This was a softer side of Ino that Shikamaru was less used to. Too bad it apparently took unhappiness to bring it out, he thought. "There's nothing wrong," she repeated. Her voice was little more than a whisper lost in the thundering rain.

"Are you sure?"

"_Yes_, Shika." Ino replied forcefully, crossing her arms angrily.

"…Fine." Shikamaru sighed and began to walk away. He fancied himself a nice guy, but knew there weren't many moments when he went out of his way to be there for anybody else. Their troubles were their own, he always said. It was just like Ino to brush him off now, on the off chance that he went against his policy. Figures. He wanted to go home, but he realized that he would probably need to stay here, under the tree and out of the storm.

"It's Mitsurou," she said finally.

"Mitsurou? What about him?" he asked. Mitsurou was a chuunin on Ino's team who was adept at water-element ninjutsu. He reminded Shikamaru of Naruto in a way; spiky-headed and energetic. Overall, he was a good kid, but what had he done to make Ino upset? Did he say something? Ask her on a date when he knew she'd say no?

"He died."

…Oh.

They stood silent for more seconds than Shikamaru could count. His lips hung open as he stared at Ino, her head down and eyes closed. He took a step forward when she looked back up; her face was already so wet from the rain he wouldn't have realized she was crying if she hadn't covered her face with her hand. "I… Ino, I—" He stopped searching for the words to say when he realized she was next to him, resting her head on his chest. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around her and she cried into his shirt. They stood like that for a long time.

- - -

"What do you think, Shika?" Ino was sitting with her legs bunched to her chest, locking her wrists around her knees. Her crying had subsided slightly, but Shikamaru could still see thin trails of tears on her cheeks. The storm was also beginning to settle somewhat. After a brief pout of thunder, the rain was finally letting up, though it was still too wet for the two of their likings.

"About what?" he asked, looking to his side at her.

"You know what I mean."

Shikamaru looked away, not wanting to admit that he didn't. He twiddled a blade of grass between his fingers and leaned backwards, lying on the ground.

"About us," she explained. "About our lives. As shinobi." She buried her face in her arm, but allowed herself a peek through one teary eye at Shikamaru. He rolled over onto his side with an arm under his head, racking his brain for a satisfactory answer.

"It's alright."

Ino huffed and looked away. Apparently the answer was unsatisfactory. Shikamaru gazed downward into the grass. "I meant about how we're _supposed_ to live, you know?" she continued. "The rules we live by every day. We show no emotion. We serve our country, and that's that." He knew where this was going, and it made him feel uncomfortable. He tried not to think about that question so hard, because he knew that if he did, it would stir up too many personal issues in his head.

"People die every day, Ino. Everyone does. But if we can die for a cause, instead of meaninglessly—"

"How can you say something like that, Shikamaru?" Ino turned her body towards him, landing on her knees. She once again appeared angry with him, he noted with a sigh. "How can you think like that? How can you be so insensitive?"

"Ino…"

"Don't _give_ me that!" she screamed at him. The tears had started flowing again. "Mitsurou was only thirteen! How can a _child_ die for his country?"

Shikamaru stuttered for a second, suddenly unable to answer the girl in front of him who was slowly growing hysterical. He tried anyway. "It happens, you know?"

"Happens?" she sobbed softly. She was sitting on her legs, her hands on her knees. "Not to you, it doesn't. Not to you, Shika." He couldn't answer her, instead rolling back over to stare into the leaves on the tree above. "Mitsurou _died_ because of me," she whispered. "Because of what _I_ did."

They were shinobi, he thought. Trained killers. Shikamaru himself killed people on a regular basis. Tomorrow he would go out to kill some more. But he had never known those whose lives he took away, or allowed those under his watch to die in battle. He almost had once, and he could remember feeling little different than Ino did now. It didn't even matter to him that they had failed the mission; his best friends were hospitalized for weeks because of consistent mistakes made on his part as captain, and since then he vowed to never let his teammates get hurt. He couldn't even imagine what Ino was thinking, knowing someone under her guidance _had_ died.

"So?" she asked. Now it was his turn to look confused. "How do you feel about it?"

Shikamaru closed his eyes. His answer was a speech he heard recited a thousand times, one he had memorized before the first month at the academy was through. All ninja knew it. "A shinobi has no feelings, no attachments," he began. "He—"

Another huff. "I don't _care_ what they taught you, Shika. I _know_ what they taught us. How do _you_ feel?" Ino stood and walked the few steps to where he was lying, taking a seat next to him. He noticed how calm her voice was; it was no longer cracking from her tears, and no longer frantic from hysteria. It was only pure, 100 percent Ino. Shikamaru realized how rare it was that he experienced her true self.

"I…" he began, unsure of where he would finish. "I'm… not sure."

Ino got down on her side facing him, and laid a hand on his arm. He turned his head to face her. Under normal circumstances the act may have been considered intimate, but Shikamaru knew that he was only emotional support. Lucky him to be caught at the park that day.

"It's okay," she said softly, removing her hand and rolling onto her back. "I'm sorry I got mad."

"Don't be."

"I'm sorry for bringing this all up at once."

"Stop apologizing. It's not like you." They both turned their heads to look at each other. Ino's blue eyes were still misty with tears, but she had stopped crying. Without thinking, he reached over and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "It's okay," he assured her. She smiled slightly. It was small, but it wasn't fake.

"Shika?"

"Yeah?"

Ino tilted her head back up to look into the tree branches. "Do you… really think shinobi are just tools?"

_This again?_ Shikamaru let out a breath. "You're so troublesome sometimes, Ino."

"No, I mean it." She looked back into his eyes. "Do you think so?"

There was no way out of this one. It was his turn to look upwards and let out a sigh. "I don't know. It's something I don't think about often." She may not be satisfied with that answer, he thought, but it was the truth. She let out a small "hmm" and followed his gaze into the trees.

"Never?"

"Not often."

"But when you do?"

God, all the questions were such a pain in the ass, but he had no problem answering them for her. "Shinobi _are_ tools, there's no doubt about that anywhere. I'm just not sure I agree with it." Ino nodded slowly. Neither said anything for a few minutes. "What about you?" Shikamaru looked back at her, and was somewhat surprised when she looked away.

"I don't know." He didn't understand how that was a valid response for Ino but not for him, but decided not to press the matter further. "I guess I feel the same way." She turned her face skyward again. "I love Konoha. But I don't want to be sent out to die for its sake."

"It's such a troublesome thing to think about."

Ino suddenly let out a loud laugh, and Shikamaru turned to her, silently questioning her sanity. Ino met his gaze and quieted down. "It's just like you to say that," she smiled. He smiled back slightly.

"Shika?"

"Yeah?" Shikamaru prepared himself for another onslaught of questions.

"Thanks."

He nodded. They laid together until the storm subsided.


	2. Catfish

**Author's Notes: Thanks to everyone that's already shown support for the story! I'm glad people enjoy it. I hope it eventually turns out to everyone's likings, although I'm not sure when it'll end. Note that there may be spoilers here for people not up-to-date on the series. Keep the reviews coming! No, I won't beg for them, but I **_**will**_** tell you that they make me very, very happy. I'm hoping to have the next chapter out by August 26, in keeping with the Sunday released format I'm going for (though you never know; if I get lucky, it may be out a few days before that!). Anyways, please enjoy!**

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Even before the sun had risen Shikamaru knew it was going to be a long day. He stood on the tree branch he used as a bed the night before and lit himself a cigarette, sighing deeply. To either side of him, on different branches, Ino and Chouji were still asleep, but Shikamaru knew they wouldn't be for long. They were losing precious minutes as the enemy ran away. They were still confused as to why the baker's wife was kidnapped by a trio of bandits, but a job was a job, troublesome as it was. Team 10 was becoming known as one of the best jounin teams in Konoha, even if it operated as a three-man cell. When the second generation Ino-Shika-Chou combo recreated their genin squad after the death of Asuma-sensei, they had decided to retain their old name in his memory, and now the three seventeen-year-olds were in high demand with their perfect performance record. They had, after all, played a key role in the final defeat of Akatsuki the year before. The baker must have been in the possession of quite a sum of money to request their team personally. 

"Ino. Chouji." Shikamaru stood between them and adjusted his jounin vest as the two awoke. "Time to get moving, or we'll lose their trail." Chouji pulled a bag of chips out of his pocket and began to munch on them as the three prepared their gear.

"How far are they?" Ino shouldered her small pack and looked up at Shikamaru, who was now one of the tallest of the Konoha 11. Chouji had him beat by a couple of centimeters.

"I'd venture to guess not that far yet. But if they're going to break into Konoha for a kidnapping, then they should know some of us would be right on their asses, so I doubt they've spent much time resting. Let's get to it."

- - -

Only a few miles away, a group of three ninja entered a small village on the border of the Fire Country. The tallest one, whose eyes were covered by a forehead protector depicting two right angles in the form of a cliff, carried a large backpack behind him. Most of the villagers moved out of the trio's way as they walked past, but those close enough would have sworn they could hear muffled cries coming from the bag. The other two were about a head shorter than the leader, and wore the same village's forehead protector around opposite arms. If they weren't in the middle of a mission, they might have stopped by one of the many dango shops along the street that the village was famous for (Uzumaki Naruto himself frequented these stores during this training with Jiraiya), but they were late as it was. Their boss would not be happy.

The one to the right of the tall leader turned to address him. "Hey Namazu, are you sure you know where we're going?"

"Of course," Namazu replied.

"Really? We _are_ being followed, so I'd think we should find this place as soon as possible." The one on the left looked away, at the shops. He was getting hungry.

Namazu abruptly turned to the right, and the other two continued a few paces before they even realized he was no longer with them. They quickly caught up. "The blind leading the blind, eh?" the left one said, falling back into step.

"Very funny."

The one called Namazu stood almost two meters tall, with spiked black hair and a dark red scar on his neck. He seemed to navigate the town just fine with his eyes covered by his forehead protector. The two with him stood at about the same height and looked remarkably similar, save for the color of their hair; one had white, the other black. Both wore it medium-length and down, and had on shirts of the opposite color of their hair. Effectively, they were inverted mirror images of each other. They walked behind Namazu to either side.

"It's in here."

The two followed Namazu into a nearby bar, occupied only by the aged bartender sitting on the other side of the room, and his young grandson who was cleaning it. The last of the late night drunkards had already been thrown out, it seemed. The old man looked up at the tall ninjas standing in his doorway, and pulled his feet from where they were resting on the counter.

"You're the three, right? Your boss is in the basement." The man regarded them with a rough politeness, and stood to show them the door deeper into the bar. His grandson held the broom tightly in his hands, shaking and glaring at them with everything in his eleven-year-old body. White-hair on the left smirked at him.

"Much obliged," Namazu grinned, walking toward the doorway.

"I hope you're out of my shop and out of this town as soon as possible," the bartender muttered through gritted teeth.

"Oh? You don't like our manners?" Namazu grinned wider, and the old man scowled and began to turn away. Before he could, Namazu gripped his neck with his large hand and shoved him against the wall. "We've been more than kind to you and your kid. My boss has seen to that. If you still have a problem, why don't you tell us?"

The child dropped his broom and ran toward the ninja trio. In one swift motion, White-hair grabbed him and picked him up, pinning him in the air with a kunai at his neck.

"Still have any questions?" Namazu asked. He tightened his grip on the man's neck, who weakly shook his head. Namazu released him, as did White-hair with the kid. They both fell to the ground hard. The three walked through the door, still carrying the screaming backpack.

- - -

"Please, I insist. It's customary that I share a drink with my clients."

The greasy-haired man slouched in his chair with his legs crossed, looking at the two men sitting across from him in the basement of the bar. His endlessly smirking face sipped from a small cup of sake as he offered them the bottle. Even considering the customers that Raikou had carried out crimes for before, these two were quite odd. He didn't know their names, and didn't ask. They both wore straw hats while in public, but one of them had his off now, revealing his very long auburn hair. He knew the other wore thin-framed glasses, but in the basement's dim lighting he couldn't make out any facial features under the hat.

"We request another service after your employees return," Glasses said. He reached out and grabbed the cup Raikou left on the table for him. His voice was deep and thoughtful, and Raikou was surprised that it didn't sound very threatening, considering he was a man who hid his face.

"And what's that?"

Hair took a small sip of his sake and looked over at him. "We will be using the target for blackmail." He spoke in a slightly flamboyant tone of voice. "We want you to keep her here until our affairs are done. One of us will stay to watch over her, while the other returns to Konohagakure. Once we've completed what we came here to do, we'll pay the rest of the fee and leave."

"How long do you expect it will take?"

"A few days at most."

Raikou raised his glass to a cheers, a way he liked to seal the deal. He waited, but the other two didn't move. Very strange people, he thought. He brought the cup back to his lips. Raikou Shiba was no stranger to carrying out paid felonies; now at forty-two, his crime ring employed twenty three-man cells. He held no concrete base of operations, preferring instead to stay nearby to his current highest-profile case. This time, it looked to be the kidnapping of a lowly baker's wife from Konohagakure, so he had commandeered the basement of a bar a few towns away while he sent one of his most talented groups out to do the dirty work. It was already the morning of the third day. They were late.

The silence in the cellar allowed the three inside to hear the hushed voices upstairs, followed by a loud bang. Raikou was on his feet instantly (having been in the crime business his entire life, he had to be quick on his toes to evade local police), and Hair turned in his chair and stared at the door. Glasses took another sip of his drink and placed it on the table. "Don't worry," he said, "it's them." As soon as the words left his mouth, Namazu appeared at the door with his dichromatic friends and a noisy sack. The blind man opened up his cargo and poured out a middle-aged woman bound, gagged, and wiggling.

Hair knelt by her side as if for a closer look, prodding randomly on her face and neck. When he was satisfied, he grinned at her and looked up at Glasses with a chuckle. Glasses took this as a confirmation of identity, standing and walking towards the circle that had formed around the woman. "Raikou, I also request use of this squad to accompany my partner to Konoha. They will assist in the blackmailing of Hakuge Nigeshou, using his wife as leverage. You and I will stay here with her. Our affairs will be finished within a few days' time, after which we will pay you and be on our way."

"Raikou-sama, we were followed here by a small team from Konoha," Namazu interrupted while Raikou still seemed to be considering Glasses' words. "I doubt there was more than one squad, and I think it was only a four-man cell. I'm giving you a heads-up, but we don't anticipate any problems."

"See to it that you don't," Raikou replied simply, pouring another glass. "Your new terms will cost an extra 1,000 ryou. I assume the extra will also be paid after the fact?"

Glasses didn't respond. "Furitsuke, try not to get into trouble. These gentlemen here will do the fighting for you, if it comes to that."

"Kogoe… you and I both know that I can't let others take my fun."

Kogoe reached under his hat to scratch his head as his partner Furitsuke stood with Namazu's team. "If the three of them need backup, give it to them," he said. "But don't go overboard. We don't want to start a war."

- - -

"Hey Shika, look!" Ino pointed toward the few buildings that could be seen through the trees from Team 10's position. Shikamaru checked his map for information about the town; he couldn't remember ever being here before. Hell, he didn't know there was any civilization on this side of the border with the Waterfall Country. Apparently, neither did the map.

"Guys, I don't know where this place is."

"What do you mean?" Chouji asked, taking a seat on the branch he landed on.

"Did our targets even come through here? It looks kind of conspicuous, don't you think? I dont think we should go."

Shikamaru leaned against his tree, adjusting against the uncomfortable bark digging into his back. "It wouldn't hurt to pay a short visit. Somebody there may have some kind of information. Mapmakers in Konoha don't even know this place exists, though, so expect the worst. You know the drill."

Ino crossed her arms. "And what if this turns out to be a wild goose chase?"

"We're not a tracking team. This isn't our kind of mission, and that baker, Hakuge, knew it. There must have been a reason he asked for us personally."

"I don't like it." Ino continued to stare at the town.

"Me neither, so stay alert."

The town itself was no more than twenty intersecting streets, each lined with shops and bars. A financial city after all, Shikamaru thought. Most prominent, he noticed, were the dango shops along every sidewalk. Even for the early morning, the lane was filled with people, and the three members of Team 10 had to push their way just to get through.

"So where do we start?" Ino asked.

Shikamaru motioned a direction with his head. "Why don't we try here?"

"Dango? Why?"

"Well, for one, we're all hungry, and we don't know when we'll get another chance to sit down for a quick snack. Secondly, if our targets _have_ entered the town, maybe somebody inside will have some clues for us. I'm sure Chouji agrees with me, right?" Chouji flashed his best friend a grin in reply.

"Shikamaru…"

The boy smiled. "Don't worry, I've thought of everything."

"I'm sure."

The dango shop was the only one open this early in the day, and at the moment it was empty. The three entered, looked around, and gathered again. Chouji grunted at his teammates. "What do we do if there's no one here?"

"We start our search elsewhere," Shikamaru grumbled. He shoved his hands deep into his pockets, realizing how much of a nuisance this mission would undoubtedly turn out to be. If their targets had never even entered the town, then they would lose hours searching for leads that didn't exist.

"Maybe we should split up?" Chouji suggested.

Ino nodded. "We do have the radios. We could easily meet someplace if one of us picks something up, or gets into trouble."

Shikamaru sighed. "I guess we may have to, huh?" He scratched the side of his head in annoyance.

"Hey!" The voice sent the three shinobi on edge, who quickly bent low in ready positions. It was, after all, an impulse by this time in their lives. They turned to see the owner of the dango shop standing behind the counter, waving his hands in front of his face. "Whoa there! I was just wondering if you wanted to buy anything!"

Chouji's eyes lit up as he licked his lips and walked to the counter. Shikamaru leaned in to order two orders of botchan dango, as well as one stick each of mitarashi and goma, and the manager turned around to prepare the snacks. Team 10 had been around so long that any members could recall instantly the favorite foods, mannerisms, and dislikes of his or her comrades instantly. Chouji would eat both sticks of botchan within forty seconds, while Ino liked to savor the mitarashi dango. Shikamaru himself preferred the goma, which as the name suggests was filled with sesame seeds. If he had more money and time, he would have bought himself and Ino glasses of tea, as they both liked it with their meals. Unfortunately, he had neither.

"So, you kids are from Konoha?" Shikamaru's answer was a grunt, seeing as how his mouth was filled with rice flour. Even if it wasn't, he probably would've grunted anyway. "You know Naruto then, right?"

Chouji laughed, laying both bare skewers on the counter after cleaning them off with his teeth. "Of course we do!"

"He's one of our best friends," Shikamaru added after swallowing.

The large-bellied, mustachioed man behind the counter broadened his smile until it stretched to his ears. "Nice kid. He was one of my best customers a few years ago, along with some old pervert he traveled with. Heard he became some kind of worldwide hero a few months back?"

"Something like that," Shikamaru drawled. Sure, it was a big deal to defeat Akatsuki, but he had become a huge celebrity since then. He deserved the spotlight, he thought, after being stepped on by the other villagers of Konoha his whole life. Hell, at this point, he could become Hokage if he wanted. He was, after all, one of the strongest ninja in the village, as he continued to prove time after time even now.

"So," the manager continued, "what bring you here to our village? Sightseeing? Camping trip?"

"Well, it's troublesome, but we're on a mission," Shikamaru replied, leaning back and placing his hands behind his head. He didn't know the old man's policies about smoking in his restaurant, so instead he held the wooden skewer from his meal between his teeth, rattling it back and forth with his tongue.

"A mission, eh? …Does it have anything to do with all the weird crap that's been going on here this morning?"

Ino's eyes shot wide as she looked at Shikamaru, her jaw coming to a stop mid-chew. He would have thought it looked pretty funny, had he not done the same, leaning forward and accidentally slamming his fist on the counter. "What are you talking about?" he almost yelled, eyes burning. It was a rare moment of intensity for him. It meant the mission might be ended quickly.

"Well… a few minutes after sunrise, while I was heading over here to open up, I saw a group of three ninja walking around. One had one of those there metal plates over his eyes, but he looked like he was leading the other two, who were dressed all in black and white."

"Were they carrying anything?" Chouji asked.

"The tall one had a backpack, but that's all I could see. If you're looking for them, they went off down that way." The tubby man pointed down the street, and the shinobi in his shop jumped to their feet and dropped an extra handful of change on the countertop. "Did you like the food?" he called out after them, but they were already out of sight.

- - -

It was almost noon by the time Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji stood outside the abandoned bar. Half of the morning had been spent on wild goose chases, following false leads given by citizens terrified of what the constant intruders that day would mean for their city. Some refused to dole out information, believing that they might be contributing to their own destruction. Some even left the village. Obviously, this was not a place accustomed to ninjas, secrets, and war, Shikamaru noted with a sigh. It only made things more difficult when civilians impeded your work. By now, he wasn't even sure if the targets would still be in the bar like the flower lady across the street had tipped. Apparently, they had entered right after sunrise, and nobody had yet come back out. Even more interesting, the old man and his grandson who owned it hadn't been seen on the street in days.

Ino grabbed Shikamaru's shoulder moments before he strolled through the doorway, pulling him back out and accidentally into her. Had he been more observant in this sense, he would have noticed that when he turned his head to face her, his face was only inches away from hers for the few seconds before Ino blushed and turned away. "Do you think it's a good idea to just walk in the front door?" she asked, looking back at the bar quickly.

"Hmm," Shikamaru grunted, trying not to glance over at the grinning Chouji, "good point. But at the same time, we don't know the skill level of our opponents; from what everyone in town told us, they're older than we are and from a hidden village most people have never heard of, so they could very well be way out of our league. If that's the case, then I doubt any amount of sneaking around would mask our presence. But if we pretend to be customers, we may get them to let down their guard long enough to catch them in a surprise attack."

Chouji crossed his large arms. He was as big as ever, but he no longer looked fat, just big-boned like the rest of his clan. "And if they already know we're after them? Then what?" he asked.

Shikamaru scratched the back of his neck with one hand, thrusting the other into his pocket. Without knowing the strengths and abilities of his enemies, he couldn't really answer that question. "We show them what Ino-Shika-Cho is all about!" he tried instead. Ino and Chouji nodded and grinned, and the three of them walked through the doorway together.

- - -

"They're here."

Furitsuke placed his straw hat back on top of his long hair as Namazu finished tying the thick rope around the bartender's wrists. His grandson was lying on the floor as the baker's wife had moments earlier, his arms and legs bound and a piece of black tape stretched across his mouth. Kogoe regarded them with little more than a glance as he slid open the trapdoor in the wall.

"What if they find us in here?" Raikou asked. His voice was strained, jumpy. Just like all crime lords and organization heads, Kogoe thought. They could act tough while ordering their lackeys around, but when finally faced with personal danger they shit their pants. No matter; he would never let anything happen to Raikou, at least until he was finished with him. It was no longer sure when the time would come that Kogoe and Furitsuke could operate independent of the third party, however; the unexpected proficiency of the Konohagakure mission system had already thrown a wrench in their plans once. Then again, it may have just been the incompetence of the trio carrying out the dirty work.

"They won't," Kogoe answered finally. His voice held a sense of urgency, but not worry. Their enemies were still outside the bar. Plenty of time to get everyone inside the back exit.

It was then that the bartender started to scream and kick, struggling against his bonds to either get away or to alert his rescuers outside that they were inside, and not in a good situation. Namazu started to grit his teeth, preparing to kick him hard in the ribs, a blow that may have suffocated the aged man do to the position he was stuck in. He was stopped by Kogoe, who knelt down and dropped his face inches from the old man's. Nobody else heard what he said, but it was obvious from the way the blood drained from the bartender's face that it was a threat of some sort. Furitsuke grunted and walked through the trapdoor, followed by Raikou and his three employees. Kogoe entered last, closing it.

The ceiling of the room was only a mesh grating that allowed the midday sun to light the inside, revealing a short hallway and a door that led outside. Kogoe rummaged through one of the many pockets on the navy blue pack on his side, eventually removing a slip of white paper with black ink scribbled sloppily on one side. He affixed the seal to the doorframe; any experienced ninja could tell its purpose was to conceal the door from those inside.

Furitsuke lowered himself to sit on his heels, and the maroon cloak he wore bunched up against the wooden floor. "So, what's the new plan?" he asked.

"Raikou's employees will simply walk back out of town," Kogoe replied. On the wall adjacent to the door leading to the cellar, there was a thinner door. He opened this, pulling out the backpack that once again contained the baker's wife and slinging it over his shoulder. "They will provide the distraction necessary to lead the Leaf shinobi deeper into the forest, where they will engage them in combat. In the meanwhile, you and I will head back to Konohagakure with Raikou, and we will complete the deal with Hakuge ourselves. If Namazu and his team defeat the enemy, they will meet back with us inside the bakery. Then our deal will be over, Raikou will receive his pay, and we'll leave."

"Wait," Namazu stood up, crossing his long arms. His giant figure would be considered menacing by even the most seasoned shinobi. "Are you sure you're not jut sending us out to delay the enemy? To die fighting?"

"If you die," Kogoe replied, adjusting his glasses under his hat, "then you'll have served your purpose as shinobi."

"_What?_" Namazu was suddenly right in front of Kogoe, trying to look as booming and threatening as possible in an attempt to intimidate him. If he couldn't lay a hand on his boss' clients, he could still scare most of them into submission on a whim. This was not a whim, however; he was becoming very, _very_ pissed off at the man.

"No matter where your allegiances lie, you're nothing but a pawn in your master's game. Shinobi are tools. Accept it and be done with it," Kogoe replied coolly. He lifted his right hand and placed his palm in the middle of Namazu's chest. Raikou noticed a black tattoo on the back of his right hand: a full circle whose right half was obscured by a crescent shape, and with a small star in the middle. Curious, he thought.

Namazu suddenly dropped to his knees, his skin growing visibly green and clammy. His fingernails grated against the hard floor, soaking up the sweat dripping from his forehead in rivers. His breathing was erratic, and his jet-black hair, which usually stood of its own accord no matter its condition, began to droop down into his face, sticking to his scalp. It was a sudden transformation, taking less than second for the symptoms to display. He turned his chin upward as if to look into his assailant's face through his blind eyes. His mouth formed words, but the bile in his throat filtered out any sound but guttural cracks from his chest. He had lost his sight by twelve, and by now had forgotten what sight even was. Why did he glimpse something now? And why was it of _that_?

"You're too afraid," Kogoe whispered. "Do your job. The Leaf ninja will follow you. Meet us in two days at Hakuge's bakery."

Namazu nodded once slowly and stumbled to his feet, resting a hand on the wall to balance against his jelly legs. He felt his joints creak as he turned to face Suzu and Nari, his teammates. He tried to make a sound, surprised by the hollow noise emanating from his throat. "Time to go," he said weakly. The two black-and-white men eyed the clients warily before helping Namazu back to his feet and out the door into the back alley. Raikou stood in stunned silence.

"You didn't go overboard, did you?" Furitsuke questioned.

"He'll be fine in a few minutes." Kogoe turned towards Raikou, motioning towards the exit with his head. "As for us, we should also hurry if we want to get back to Konoha on schedule."

- - -

"There's no one in here."

Ino looked behind the bar, while Chouji searched the corners of the aged building. Shikamaru knocked on the walls, looking for hidden compartments. If it was true that the owner and his grandson hadn't been seen since that morning, he expected the worst. And because nobody had seen the targets leave the premises, chances were they were still here, waiting in ambush. God, this mission was turning out to be a bother. Shikamaru took the opportunity to light himself his third cigarette that day, feeling his nerves loosening and his mind relaxing of its own accord. He blew a puff of smoke into the air, allowing himself to relax slightly while remaining alert for any danger. So far, he sensed none.

Even though she was on the other side of the room, Ino coughed. "Again? Shikamaru, put that thing away!" she yelled. She had never been a fan of his recently acquired hobby.

"Geez," he replied, lowering himself onto his heels and taking another drag, "keep it down. If there's someone here, they might hear you."

Ino huffed and stormed his way, Chouji watching bemusedly in the background, leaning against a low shelf to watch the show. When she reached him, she tried to swipe the cancer stick away with her hand, but Shikamaru quietly dodged up and down, left and right, staying on his heels. He thought of blowing a large puff of smoke directly in her face just to piss her off, but decided against it once she started kicking. He jumped backward twice, evading her attacks with a sigh. It was too bad he knew his teammates' attacks well enough that he could tell when Ino produced the hand seals for her Mind-Body Switch technique, so instead he extended his shadow to meet hers before she could finish. He looked up and grinned at her when she realized she had stopped moving of her own volition.

"Shika… Shikamaru, you bastard!" she yelled at him. Her hand trailed to her face, making motions as if she was lifting something from her mouth. Shikamaru stamped his cigarette out on the floor, grinning slyly and watching the kunoichi mimic his every move.

"Uhh, guys?"

Shikamaru turned his head to face Chouji, who was standing behind the bar, ear to a closed door. Ino also looked his way, but she didn't have a choice.

"I think… I hear someone," he said quietly.

Slowly Shikamaru released his Shadow Bind and stood, one hand on the back of his neck. His other hand instinctively rubbed against the rough fabric of the pouch to his side, ready to pull a weapon out at any notice. It was a stance that was second nature. "Should we check it out?" he asked slowly.

"It sounds like someone struggling." Chouji's voice passed as a whisper over his lips. "Like they were tied up or something," he added.

"It might be a trap, or bait," Ino countered. She was starting to creep toward the door, her body low to the ground. Shikamaru followed her lead for several seconds, and then disappeared, appearing again in front of the wooden brown door. The body flicker was one of the shinobi's best friends: silent and fast. Great for stealth missions, which was what this was quickly becoming. Shikamaru twirled his pointer finger in a circle, signaling Ino and Chouji to follow him. "Orange clover east," he whispered hoarsely as the two appeared at his side. Their extensively used codewords were known only to them; not even the Godaime Hokage understood their meanings, as so far no enemy had cracked them, either. Shikamaru created them himself, and although he didn't fancy word games, the cryptography he spent five days researching proved interesting and fruitful. "Orange clover east" happened to refer to an assault position they would use to break into the bar's basement.

"Ready," Ino whispered, standing behind and to the left of Shikamaru.

"Ready," Chouji repeated. He stood in the very front.

"Go."

Chouji's left arm quadrupled in size and he brought it down on the door, splintering it easily. Due to the angle of the blow, the larger chunks flew upwards, casting long shadows on the ground for the short time they hovered in the air. Shikamaru sped through a quick set of hand seals and extended his shadow into all corners of the room using the added reach, taking note of the two bodies he felt. As a jounin, he had learned to use his abilities to grope around and locate objects despite his not being able to see them. He quickly took hold of his targets with a Kagemane, hoping that there were no others hiding in the room out of range of his shadows. While he and Chouji stood just outside the door, Ino launched herself through the smoking entrance, a handful of shuriken at the ready. She landed in a mist of splinters and debris, throwing her arm into a backswing, ready to launch her deadly arsenal to take care of their attackers. She dropped them mid-slide. Even from fifteen feet away in the muted lighting, she could tell the color of the young boy's brown saucer plate sized eyes.

"Guys," she called out, loud enough so her voice could be heard through the din of the chunks of wood smacking against the ground. "I found the owner and his kid!"

"What?" Shikamaru peeked his head around the corner. When he saw them, he grasped his hands in front of him and closed his eyes, focusing on his technique. Thin black tendrils appeared from the floor, dexterously cutting through their bindings. Chouji fumbled in, sprinting toward the old white-bearded man, tenderly unwrapping the gag in his mouth with his large hands.

"They're outside!" he yelled at them, stumbling to his hands and knees. The rope had been tied so tightly it left red ribbons in the skin of his wrists. His voice was being forced so hard from his mouth his saliva was landing on Chouji's wincing face. "They've been in here for days! Some mobster and his lackeys!"

"Easy," Shikamaru motioned with his hands for the man to lower his voice. "What else can you tell us?"

The man looked to be growing irritated. Typical civilian, Shikamaru thought with a groan. Just like them to get frantic and impede your mission. "He's got some lady with him!" the manager spat back. The three members of Team 10 looked at each other, ears perked up. "They're heading back to Konoha!"

Ino grinned. "Well, perfect, right?" she cocked her head to the side with a chuckle. "Right back where we can get them."

"Don't get overconfident," Shikamaru returned, running back towards the stump of wood that remained of the door. When Ino felt the victory was at hand, she tended to let her guard down. Definitely high on the list of troublesome things.

"We're fine," the manager yelled back at them. "You guys go ahead." Shikamaru flashed him a thumbs up, and disappeared through the doorway.

- - -

Kogoe and Furitsuke stood on the roof of a small shop overlooking the city. Raikou sat in an adjacent alleyway; not being a ninja, he was unable to get up on the high roof with them.

"So?" Furitsuke inquired in a bored tone. His hands were in his pockets, his maroon cloak whipping around in the breeze. The wintertime sun was chilly in the sky, and the low temperatures were cut through by the cold winds that had picked up as the day sunk into the afternoon.

Kogoe adjusted his hat and grinned underneath it. "I like him," he smirked.

"Why?"

"All that aggression," Kogoe switch positions so he was sitting cross-legged. "He's afraid. Do you think… we can take him in?"

Furitsuke exhaled, taking a seat next to his partner. "I don't think we need him. But if you're dead set on his joining, do you think you could even convince him?"

"That's a stupid question."

At that moment, they glimpsed three Leaf shinobi rounding the corner and barreling through the crowds, apologizing to the shoppers they knocked down in their scrambled rush after Raikou's employees, who were walking through the city's gates.

"Which one?"

"Him." Kogoe lifted his hand from his navy blue cloak to point towards one of the trio, once again displaying the tattoo on his hand. "He has something that's dear to him."

"Then how do we cut his ties?"

They watched as Team 10 finally broke through the crowd, the largest boy falling over as they did. Namazu's team turned to face them, and the bystanders nearest them also spun around to watch the scene. Suddenly, all six disappeared into the forest nearby.

"We take away what's precious to him," Kogoe grinned.


	3. Brotherhood

Author's Notes: Thanks again for everybody who read my story so far and has encouraged me with reviews! I've never written an extended action chapter before, so bear with me if it seems a little off (also, it a little short, I think). I'm hoping to have the next chapter out by September 2, but unfortunately, I have a picnic to attend that day, so my apologies if it comes a little later (or earlier!). Anyway, please review, and enjoy!

* * *

"Give up," the blind ninja called out. He stood a hundred feet above his pursuers, crossing his long arms atop a thick tree branch. His confident sideways grin exposed both his jagged teeth and his natural tendency to underestimate his opponents, even if he knew little to nothing about their fighting styles and power. He wasn't accustomed to upper-level ninja interfering with his business.

"Shikamaru?" Chouji kept his gaze trained on their targets in the trees above them, his fists balled tightly at the ready. "What's our plan?"

"We'll test the cheese, and then walk the dog," Shikamaru replied, tightening his hair band. From such a distance, he wasn't sure whether he needed to use code words, but it never hurt to be safe; after all, combining Bushin with Henge jutsu made for great eavesdropping material, and was almost impossible to discover. Plans tended not to go over so well once they enemy caught wind of them.

"When do we know to walk the dog?" Ino asked.

Shikamaru whispered, "Watch the weather," and the three of them reached for their radios. They were to gauge their opponents' strengths and weaknesses and then take charge of the battle, leading them along until they could find an opportunity for a quick checkmate, according to Shikamaru's orders. It was a vague, simple strategy, but he could color in the details when he knew more of what to expect with those three. He could tell by the blindfold over the leader's eyes that he was probably a long-range ninjutsu user, because his apparent inability to see would make it difficult to perform the minute complex actions required in taijutsu. His companions were black-and-white twins, so it was obvious that whatever power they possessed was connected. Because these kinds of ninja worked in tandem, defeating one usually ensured victory over the other.

"The fox is hiding," Ino continued. "You gonna snare the crow?"

Shikamaru grinned in response, pressing his hands together into the Rat seal. "Let's make this quick." Today the battlefield was thankfully in his favor: it was a cloudless, albeit cold day, and they were fighting in a forest, where he could extend his shadow almost indefinitely, especially in the early afternoon when they were just beginning to lengthen. If he couldn't win now, his advantage would only grow stronger over time.

He wanted to win now though. Snaring the crow meant to catch the opponents in a Shadow Bind, and he could feel his attack weaving between the tall trees, climbing within the fat branches. The hired thugs were completely oblivious, continuing to stare down their noses at the Konoha shinobi that they were sure they could dispatch with ease, as they had all of their previous adversaries. Some ninja, such as Naruto, would become irritated knowing that they were thought so little of, but Shikamaru knew how to use this to his advantage. Overconfidence was a ninja's worst enemy.

Because the twins were closer, Shikamaru's shadow was upon them quickly, but he dared not connect his to theirs. It would be best, he mused, if he could capture all three at once. Then, by only taking a step forward, he could force them to fall a hundred feet back into range of his team's attacks, if they were still alive after the plunge. It was unlikely they would catch another branch on the way down; Shikamaru had learned to suppress his opponents' chakra while he caught them in a shadow bind, a useful technique taught to him by his father upon advancement to jounin.

His shadow spiraled around the wide tree trunk, burying itself within folds of the rough bark as it stole towards its target. It was now five meters from his position, and now four, three, two, one…

Namazu launched himself into the air before he could become a victim of the Kagemane no jutsu. Then suddenly, at the apex of his jump, he disappeared. Shikamaru swore. The best course of action, he quickly decided, would be to complete the jutsu to capture the other two and break their necks for a speedy win, but before he could, the leader appeared in the middle of Team 10 with a smirk. He was tall enough that he could slam his knee right into Shikamaru's chest, finishing his attack by slapping him across the face with his forearm, sending Shikamaru flying backwards.

"_Ude!_" Chouji screamed, and his right arm immediately grew to match the rest of his body in size. He threw his entire being into his attack against Namazu, swinging the mass into his best friend's assailant. Despite being blind, the enemy shinobi skillfully jumped onto Chouji's arm, leaping off and delivering a mid-air spin kick that sent the big-boned ninja spiraling into the ground. Ino had no time to react before he swept her legs out from under her, slamming his heel into her stomach on the way down. Then, as quick as he appeared, he was back in the tree branches. That grin never left his face.

Shikamaru struggled to lift his torso up by his elbows. He had made a miscalculation. Somehow, the blind man was an adept taijutsu user, and a very fast one at that. Chouji was the only taijutsu type on the team, and though he was extremely powerful, his lack of speed would put him at a disadvantage. It would be best to clip the leader from a longer range. A Kagemane would help, but seeing as how he'd somehow dodged the last one without looking, it was doubtful it would work easily. And then there was the problem of the twins: neither had made a move yet, and now they were free to do so, as Namazu's blow had reset his shadow bind. At this point, it was anybody's game.

"How did he do that?" he heard Ino's voice ask through the earpiece of his radio.

"Shikamaru? Any ideas?" Chouji asked.

He had none yet, and he had no time to sit and think. The twins were gone.

- - -

"We should hurry back to the village!" Raikou shouted. Locks of his greasy black hair were plastered to his forehead, and he was forced to wipe the sweat off with a small brown handkerchief. It wasn't exactly warm outside that day, but Raikou was unused to the ninja's way of life, and the knowledge that his safety could be on the line if Namazu failed scared him shitless. But there was no way he would lose to some brats from Konoha. Raikou headed one of the largest crime rings in the world, and Namazu's team was one the best of his employment.

Walking in front of him were his two clients. They were distant enough from him that his ears could catch only snippets from their hushed exchange for the first few minutes, most involving Hakuge and his brother, as well as repeated iterations of the number seven. He found that despite his policy barring involvement in clients' affairs he really desired to hear more, and so decided fervently to speed up his pace inconspicuously to listen. This was, after all, the strangest pair that he'd ever worked for before.

They must have known of his desire to eavesdrop, because although Raikou did his best to conceal his movements, the pair began to chatter in louder voices about seemingly less important matters, none related to their deal with Raikou. It was agitating. He dropped behind a few paces and wasn't surprised when they resumed their previous conversation softly. This time he made no effort to even care.

"Raikou-sama," the longhaired Furitsuke called back, looking behind him. "At this rate we won't reach Konoha quickly at all. Would you prefer if the two of us stay someplace, while my partner brings the target here?" At this, the squirming backpack he carried ushered a loud noise and began to kick.

"What about when my employees return to Konoha?" Raikou shot back. "Where will they go when they realize we're not at the meeting point?"

Kogoe adjusted his glasses but didn't turn around. "They won't make it back to Konoha," he muttered quietly.

"_What?_"

"Your subordinates may be powerful, but they won't defeat the Konoha cell. I can guarantee that."

Raikou was unaccustomed to hearing that his personal shinobi teams were inadequate, and he was growing livid at the suggestion.

Kogoe continued, "They're overconfident. They know they haven't been beaten in the past, and they refuse to believe that today their record will be broken. They don't realize that their opponents are one of the most distinguished jounin squads in all of Konohagakure, responsible in part for the defeat of Akatsuki. Hakuge hired them personally, just as I said he would. Against them, Namazu, Suzu, and Nari don't stand a chance."

"How do…" Raikou stopped his pace entirely, once again wiping a thick sheet of sweat from every pore in his face, "How do you know all this?"

"It's not difficult," Kogoe tilted his head slightly, and few locks fell from under his hat, so dark a shade of blue that they appeared almost black. "We've had this planned for longer than you realize, Raikou-sama. Now, would you care to stay in the forest or in a nearby village with my partner while I'm gone? It may not look like it, but I've made several concessions thus far, your decision of occupancy among them."

_Customers_ don't make concessions, Raikou thought. _I do_. By this point he was so angry he was trembling, his white-knuckled fists clenched tightly as his sides. He had never been so infuriated by a client before. This man was smart, he acknowledged, but he was also tactless and greedy. Cold. He hated working for asswipes like these. "I'd feel more comfortable within a city," he murmured, keeping his small eyes trained on Kogoe.

"So be it," Furitsuke shrugged, walking between the two of them. "Raikou-sama and I will head for the nearest town, along with Hakuge's wife. We'll wait there for you. But how will you know where to go?"

"I'll find you," Kogoe replied, "but first there's a spectacle I'd like to watch." He disappeared into the trees.

- - -

Suzu, the black-haired young man who dressed in a long-sleeve white shirt and dark pants, watched Team 10 silently from behind, standing ten feet off the ground within the great pine trees of the Fire Country. His brother hid on the other side of the clearing, also observing the day's opponents. Their leader kept twitching his head, trying not to make it obvious that he was looking for the two of them. Suzu smiled. None of them seemed ready to fight someone as powerful and godly as their captain, Namazu. The brats had already lost.

Namazu body-flickered, cueing Suzu and Nari to prepare to launch their technique. The blind leader reappeared behind Team 10 again, donning a ready stance to prepare for an attack. It came not in the form of fists but in a shadow; the pony-tailed leader was extending his towards Namazu's, who sidestepped gracefully to avoid it. Suzu found the jutsu interesting, and knew that the shadow-user would become their first target.

Shikamaru, meanwhile, was dumbfounded. The man was blind, wasn't he? Yet he had dodged not only physical blows, but also an ethereal attack that could only be sensed through sight. He leapt away when Namazu appeared in front of him trying to finish him with a strong kick, and he slid several feet, kicking dusting into the air, as he leaned forward with a kunai held backwards in his hand. Damned troublesome, he thought with frustration.

It was his last thought. He had no time to react as the twins appeared on either side of him in a flash, executing seals with remarkable fluidity, finishing each with a Ram sign. Shikamaru forgot which way was up. The colors he saw inverted, black becoming white, red becoming blue, and his vision swam and turned upside-down. The smells of the afternoon, of pinesap and dango from the nearby town, became that of refuse, causing his eyes to tear and blur what was already unintelligible. His ears picked up nothing but the wind, which became a thick, wraithy wail and only served to disorient him further. The twins had fried his brain in an instant. Without even knowing, he stooped forward onto his knees and retched.

"Shit!" Ino yelled into the microphone, causing Chouji to wince and Shikamaru to become even more ill. She looked over at Namazu as he sped towards their leader, ready to finally take him out. "Chouji!" she yelled, but the large shinobi was already on his tail.

"_Baika no jutsu!_" he bellowed, inflating into a balloon-shaped mass. Namazu turned around and scowled as his adversary rolled his limbs inside his body and began to barrel towards him. The twins looked at each other for a brief second, and the three of them leapt out of his way, not wishing to break their arms by coming in any form of contact. They jumped once again into the high trees, allowing the other members of Team 10 to rush towards their fallen comrade, who was still leaning forward on his hands and knees, visibly nauseous.

"Shikamaru!" Ino pulled him up by his shoulders, but it was obvious from his pained whimpering that he had not yet recovered. Chouji offered a friendly hand on his upper back, but kept his eyes on their three foes, all standing in the trees, arms crossed, watching them intently.

"It's not… genjutsu…" Shikamaru choked out through thick saliva. "I can't dispel it… don't get too close to them"

"Don't talk," Ino commanded.

"No, I'm fine… it only lasts for a few seconds… but then your senses return to normal. But if they can get to you during that time…" he looked up, animosity burning in his beady eyes. "We need to support each other especially well today," he advised. He shakily worked to his feet.

"What about backup? Reinforcements?" Chouji asked.

"What, from Konoha? They'd never make it in time… and we can't afford to send someone for them. It sucks, but this is our battle."

Ino grinned, "Troublesome, right?"

He pointedly ignored her remark. "First we need to find out why the leader can use taijutsu when he can't see. It may expose a weakness. Stay away from the twins in the meanwhile. We'll play the defensive strategy for a bit; just watch them, and try not to get hurt."

"Alright, Team Ino, let's move out!" Ino pumped her fist into the air. Shikamaru sighed heavily at the kunoichi. Maturity could only solve so much, he supposed.

On the other side of the battlefield, Suzu was still staring confidently. They may have lost the advantage—they had already shown the full effects of their _Shitsudokushou_ technique, after all—but he doubted the Konoha brats carried too many aces up their sleeves. This fight was going to be over soon.

When the three launched back into battle, Team 10 was ready for them. Namazu tried to take Ino out with a body flicker and a swift kick, but she redirected the attack with her arm and jumped back. The twins appeared around Chouji's sides, but he was able to throw one away forcefully with an oversized arm, and then knock the other off balance by slamming his foot on the ground. Shikamaru understood now.

"Watch out, their techniques require them to flank you," he whispered into the mic, dodging swift attacks by Namazu. "Don't let them get around you!"

"Right," his comrades replied.

Chouji's last attack had thrown the white-haired twin just a few feet away from Ino, so she decided to control him with a _Shinranshin_. She performed the seals and created a circle with her hands, positioning it so that she could see Nari between her fingers. In a minute, he would be attacking his teammate against his will.

Instead, he just looked at her.

_What the hell?_ She concentrated harder, but Nari continued to stare. She was about to redouble her efforts when she realized he had begun another complex series of hand seals. Suzu was behind her, mirroring the signs, and Ino rolled back onto Nari's side to avoid the same fate as had befallen Shikamaru. Because her mind-body disturbance hadn't worked, she instead tried her _Shintenshin_, Mind-Body Switch. She connected, and found herself in Nari's head.

Shikamaru, meanwhile, was doing all he could to avoid Namazu's quick fists and kicks, which showed no sign of letting up. He had no time to try a _Kagemane_, so instead focused as conservative an amount of chakra as possible into his limbs for speed, but even in doing so was scraped by some of Namazu's attacks due to the latter's taijutsu skill. After every few blows the giant shinobi would body flicker and try to catch Shikamaru from behind with a knockout move, but each time he was barely able to block or redirect the hit. It only took a minute or two before fatigue began to settle like lead into his strained muscles. Namazu appeared behind him, so he spun on his heel to block an attack that didn't come. Instead, Namazu body flickered behind him again, swinging in a half circle arc, bringing his foot into Shikamaru's stomach. As he flew twenty meters into the woods and eventually felt his bones crack against the rock-hard bark of a tree, he realized his attacker was wearing steel-toed zora sandals. For the second time in that three-minute period, Shikamaru's vision morphed colors and swam like wet ink, this time from the intense pain in his back and abdomen. He looked up as Namazu materialized directly in front of him, his foot once again in the middle of a full-range curve towards Shikamaru's head, readying a blow that would likely end fatal. Shikamaru aptly collapsed to his right, causing Namazu to spin in the air above his head. He landed on a pile of caltrops. He grunted in pain and looked down, realizing he could no longer move.

"_Kagemane no jutsu_, success."

Back in the clearing, Ino couldn't understand the workings of Nari's mind. It held no individual thoughts, only constant streams of unintelligible information; they looked as though they were being transferred to and from another junction point, as if Nari's was one of two connected brains. It was, she realized. Some of the encoded thoughts belonged to somebody else, most likely the other twin. It dawned on Ino that the communicated through some sort of telepathy, allowing them to coordinate their attacks together.

She tried to turn towards the other twin, but for some reason couldn't move Nari's body. His muscles were stiff. She became aware that the streaming information in his brain was suddenly pulsing and warping, filling the space with what appeared to be a shapeless mass. Nari began to shake and sweat uncontrollably as the activity in his mind coalesced into a misshapen monster, steadily growing and filling the crevasses of his brain. Ino found no place to move, and was suddenly shoved back into her own body.

Chouji was holding her during the brief venture into the enemy, and he jumped when she recoiled and fluttered her eyes open. Suzu and Nari turned their black eyes back onto Ino and Chouji.

- - -

Had he been in full condition at that moment, Shikamaru could have killed Namazu easily.

Caltrops were a rarely used, archaic weapon in the world of shinobi, though most still carried a handful for that rare circumstance. Shikamaru had scattered them on the forest floor when he dodged Namazu's last attack, and because the taijutsu expert had fallen for them, he thought he had his ability level figured out. He was painfully aware that his broken and cracked bones prevented him from throwing Namazu onto the ground and rolling on the pins fatally due to the shadow bind, but now he could get him to talk. "Who do you work for?" he asked forcefully.

Namazu managed only a loud, arrogant laugh.

"Answer me, or I'll kill you now."

"You're bluffing," Namazu grinned.

"Am I? Can you take that risk?" Shikamaru winced as he tried to set his body down and force his enemy to mimic his actions.

"Your right forearm, collarbone, and left femur are fractured. I've severed three veins in your abdomen, and while none will cause fatal internal bleeding, you may find your position as a shinobi compromised for a short while."

"If I live," Shikamaru offered.

"You won't."

The wind switched direction to flow southeast, and Namazu twitched, obviously trying to turn his head toward its source. It was the sign Shikamaru had been waiting for.

"You're blind, but you're an adept taijutsu user," he began. Namazu laughed again. "I've been trying to figure it out, but it looks like you're able to sense fine vibrations in the air, aren't you?"

Namazu drew in a short breath in surprise. Had his headband not been in the way, his eyes would have widened for a brief second.

"You _are_ able to see, through an extremely heightened use of your other senses. In fact, better than I am: you're able to sense, by vibration, the internal damage you caused me with your last attack. You're also able to use your chakra to further augment your sensory perception… but that's not all. You have a very weak sixth sense, the ability to sense chakra. That's how you can dodge my _Kagemane no jutsu_: you could tell the small amount of chakra that I add to my shadow to shape it."

The blind ninja glowered. He had underestimated his opponent.

"There's more," Shikamaru grinned, "your abilities also lend you a disadvantage. Along with your others, you also have a heightened tactile sense, so any pain inflicted on you is amplified. The caltrops you're standing on must be excruciating." He began to choke, coughing up a thick film of bloody saliva. Along with his consciousness, his chakra reserves were beginning to fade, the process sped up by the pain that consumed his body. He hoped Chouji and Ino would finish up their fight soon.

"Smart little fucker, aren't you?" Namazu growled, his face growing red. "But you're getting weaker; I can see that now. And there's one thing you forgot."

"What's that?"

"I can alleviate my tactile sense in order to further supplement my others. If I wish it, I can erase pain from my body. I can't even _feel _your caltrops."

Shikamaru grimaced. He hadn't figured that out. Forty-six plans of action flew out the window immediately. Luckily, the one that was just now beginning wasn't one of them.

Namazu's body jerked, and Shikamaru released his jutsu. Namazu let out a yelp and jumped back onto safe ground, hopping on one foot. "Shikamaru," he yelled, "Why didn't you _tell_ me he was stepping on _makibishi_?"

"Sorry, Ino," he laughed, followed by the hacking of more blood. Ino's real body laid on the ground about thee meters away.

"Shit, I can't see a thing. A blindfold?" She lifted up the forehead protector and opened Namazu's eyes for the first time in fifteen years. "Nothing," she said. "But I'm not gonna put this thing back over his eyes. It's ugly as sin. Are you all right, Shika? You didn't look so good while I was running here."

"Just a few broken bones," he countered with the best grin he could muster through the pain, "just a little troublesome. Don't think I'll be moving much more the rest of the battle. What about your body? You're just lying out there on the ground, while Chouji's trying his best against the other two. You're a sitting duck; plus your foot's bleeding because of him."

"Well, crap. Make sure to tell me if something comes up and I need to get back. So, he can sense air vibrations and chakra?"

"Good, you heard. I was afraid his attack had knocked out my radio."

Ino laughed in Namazu's voice. "What do you propose we do?"

"Well," Shikamaru began, "I've come up with the three best plans, depending on whether or not Chouji's shown any form of victory yet."

He hadn't. They were both unaware of the fact that the twins were hovering over Ino's limp body, flashing their hand seals rapidly. The force of their jutsu pulled Ino out of Namazu's mind and into her own, which was suddenly feeling very, very fried and confused. Suzu picked her up, and the three ninja all jumped back into the protective branches of the trees.

"This is it," Namazu called back down to Shikamaru with a toothy smirk. "We're finished. You're finished. Done. Through."

Shikamaru struggled to his feet despite his three broken bones and bloody internal cavities. "I'm not finished," he choked out. "I'm never finished until my job's done."

Namazu laughed and vaporized at Shikamaru's side, shoving him full-force back into the tree. He landed just short of the caltrop minefield.

"Neither am I."


	4. Black

Author's Notes: For those who haven't seen my profile, I've changed the release dates to alternating between Sundays and Wednesdays, to allow myself more time to complete each chapter. In that case, expect Chapter 4 up by around Sunday, September 16. Thank you so much for everybody who reviewed! And an extra special thanks goes out to those who review _regularly_, such as lovelymomo-chan, C.A.M.I.O.1 and Only, and the anonymous reviewer "..." One of the reasons I've switched to later updating formats is to give myself more time to update early if I receive a lot of reviews that tell me you'd like that.. So of course, I encourage everybody to review! Once again, my apologies for the lateness of this chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

Shikamaru may have been one of the tallest of the Konoha 11 (next to Neji, Shino, and Chouji), but when Namazu lifted him off his feet by the collar of his jounin vest, he felt very small. His assailant had proven for the most part merciful, laying no hand on the more heavily injured parts of his body. Shikamaru could only infer that as meaning he meant to break all the rest of his bones, too.

Namazu could sense whenever Shikamaru tried to mold his chakra, and for that offense he was beaten. His wrecked body would hardly respond and was no longer fit to fight physically, but he still tried raising his fist to fight, and for that offense he was beaten as well. He eventually resorted to glaring and trying his best to ignore the pain, but once again he was beaten. At medium- to long-range Namazu would be defeated easily, but now that he had Shikamaru close-by, the advantage was his. Shikamaru racked his brain for answers. Only one came. It wasn't very good. The situation was rapidly deteriorating: he was obviously of no use, Ino was out cold, and he had no idea where Chouji was. Namazu had ripped out his radio before he had a chance to ask.

His opponent was by no means an extremely powerful ninja—Shikamaru wasn't sure whether he could even be classified an A-rank missing-nin—but his fighting style was one that trumped his own under the current conditions. He couldn't even recognize the village symbol scrawled on his blindfold. Shikamaru's face had turned up in the bingo books of Kiri and Iwa, and he wondered if he could be found in that village's assassination list, too.

He was thrown again into the tree. No more than ten minutes had passed since he'd lost the advantage after the caltrop incident (so far Namazu had proven merciful enough not to drop him face first into them), but it felt like an eternity. There was nothing to do but continue to thumb through possible strategies in the hope that the prerequisites of one would somehow check themselves off. First Shikamaru had to inventory his surroundings.

He was injured. Badly. Even if they regained the advantage that day, he doubted he'd be able to contribute much physically. Ino was lying unconscious on a fat branch, surrounded on either side by the twins, so they could catch her in their technique again if she reawakened. Chouji was nowhere to be found; hopefully he'd hidden himself well as an ace up their sleeves, but Shikamaru had to be aware of the possibility that he was out of the fight in one way or the other.

He tried not to dwell on that prospect.

The twins were easy to take care of, as far as he could tell, so long as they were never able to gang up on one person. So far they hadn't shown another technique besides their LSD no jutsu, and hopefully they could be incapacitated before they could demonstrate another. Also, according to Ino, they communicated with each other with some sort of telepathy, making mind-control impossible. That was interesting.

Namazu was the bigger problem, and yet Shikamaru had already picked out an exploitable weakness. He was way too fast and strong to fight within close range, and his speed was also such that it was near impossible to pin him down from any other distance. But he was still overconfident, and had underestimated Shikamaru's abilities. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that Namazu's weakness was about to be exploited.

The giant had only time to turn his head before he was hit full-force with the body, sending him flying onto the mass of caltrops. They punctured his back in tens of places, matting the grass and dirt with thick blood. He spat some more of it from his mouth.

Chouji gingerly scooped up Shikamaru in his oversized arm before he could hit the ground, setting him down gently against the trunk of the tree that had served as his torture device. He returned to normal size.

"So you heard?" Shikamaru grinned. Chouji beamed in response.

"Right before your radio died."

Namazu struggled to move, but the spikes on the dirt had torn the muscles in his back. He shakily lifted his head off the ground and spat. "What the hell are you talking about?" he snarled.

"You made a critical error during our conversation," Shikamaru began, staring at the equally incapacitated ninja. "I understood that all of your senses aside from sight were increased, but I thought that it would mean any damage we inflicted on you would become intolerably painful. However, you told me that you could mask any of them that you desired, making a point that the wounds on your feet from the caltrop felt like nothing. And again, throughout your period of torturing me, you stood on the caltrops several times without any visible influence." Namazu snarled. "You had manipulated your senses so that you could feel almost nothing physically. Unfortunately, that's also the way you can see, by sensing vibrations in the air. Because you had closed off your main form of sight, you couldn't tell that my friend was right beside you."

Namazu groaned. "But I can also raise my other senses… and I put all of the excess into my chakra perception… Why couldn't I tell?"

"Only the worst ninja can't mask his chakra. Also," Shikamaru continued, "the Akimichi clan converts calories into chakra to enable them to perform their clan techniques, so there was no chakra to sense before he hit you."

The twins stared down at the victors over their god. Whether they were livid or frightened, they still allowed no emotion stain their faces.

"If you move, we'll kill you," Chouji warned, narrowing his eyes.

"You wouldn't. You need me."

"For what?" Shikamaru laughed, using his free hand to light another cigarette. "Any information we need we can get from your boss."

"You can't find him. He's gone."

"Headed for Konoha."

"Tch," Namazu set his head back on the ground, lacking the energy to fight back. Apparently, under strong enough pain, he lost the power to mask his tactile sense, Shikamaru noted.

"The bartender told us before we left," Chouji explained. "He overheard you guys talking. Raikou and his clients."

Namazu growled and started forming quick hand seals. Shikamaru didn't want to wait to see what he was going to do. "Chouji! Kill him!"

Chouji jumped into the sea of caltrops, his feet resting in safe spots, and his arm released a puff of smoke as it enlarged to the size of a cow. He brought it up into the air to smash Namazu's broken body, but was instead knocked back with a foot to his face. Nari, the white-haired twin, landed next to him and twirled around on one foot to prepare for another attack, which was blocked easily. The smaller companions weren't as physically capable as Namazu.

Up in the trees, Ino jumped to her feet and twisted Suzu's arm behind his back before he had a chance to react. Her hand swept across the surface on the pouch strapped to her waist, and in an action observable only by skilled shinobi, withdrew a kunai and thrust it deep into Suzu's lower back.

No blood flowed over the lacquered handle. Both Suzu and Nari slumped forward at the waist, their bodies releasing all tension and becoming slack rag dolls. Ino took a step back in surprise as her target dissolved into wisps of air, flowing off into the breeze. It appeared the kaze bunshin were a success, and the real deals were nowhere to be found.

"_Doton: Koku Hyouchuu no Jutsu!_" Namazu finished the last of his hand seals while Team 10 was distracted, thrusting his hands deep into the hard ground and releasing his chakra. The area around him suddenly exploded into long spears of rock that thrust their way skywards, creating a circle of earthen spines. Chouji ran and picked up Shikamaru in his enlarged arm, looking over his shoulder to see the area of effect grow wider at an incredible pace, seeming to seek out its targets. He hopped into the trees to get away, but the spikes were tall enough that whatever trees they didn't rip to shreds were outmatched as far as height was concerned. Ino caught up with her two comrades as they tried to escape the terrifying jutsu.

In the center of the attack, Namazu hung lifelessly, his torso ripped to shreds on top of the tallest spine.

- - -

Kogoe allowed himself to be visibly impressed. The entire battle had proceeded for the most part as he expected it would, but he didn't anticipate the shadow-nin to analyze Namazu's techniques so quickly and thoroughly. It was a shame his body was as broken as it was, but it was nothing incurable. He would have to make sure the boy stayed unhurt for the rest of the day. That wouldn't be so difficult.

And Namazu: he had underestimated him, too. The Earth Release: Black Icicles jutsu was a very difficult one to learn and was considered forbidden in all of the five main hidden villages, due to the fact the user was usually killed along with the attack because of its speed, and because it stopped once their hands left the ground. Now that Namazu was dead and his hands were stilled buried within the depths of one spike, the technique would only stop once all the chakra flowed from his body into the earth. It was not surprising that the shinobi had given his life; his overconfident nature wouldn't allow him to be defeated that easily.

What a fitting end for a worthless tool.

Kogoe didn't bother hopping away from the icicles as they drew near, instead allowing them to form around him in a circle. They would make for the perfect vantage point from which he could observe Nara Shikamaru. The boy did not disappoint. He still wasn't sure what person, object, or idealism stirred in him such emotion, but his favorite part of the process was the guessing. His second favorite was swiping away that support, and turning them toward a cause. After that they were out of his hands.

He jumped on top of the spires as they finally finished forming, watching the Nara boy from a distance. It looked like Namazu's lifeless chakra had run out. All that was left to do was watch the final act of the battle. Then he would follow Team 10 back to Konoha.

- - -

Once the dust settled, Team 10 sat within a cavern of secluded pine branches. Shikamaru rested with his back against a tree trunk, his shirt already sticky from the heavy sap and sore from the rock-hard bark. Ino knelt by his side, her hands glowing light blue from her healing chakra, and Chouji kept a vigilant watch from a few yards away. Shikamaru remained confident that they could win the battle by knocking out only one of the two brothers, but until they knew where they were, any advantage to be gained was lost.

"I'd give anything for a Hyuuga on our team," he broke the silence and laughed.

"Why?" Ino smirked as she ran her hands over Shikamaru's arm, doing her best to heal the smaller wounds before he could make it to the hospital for his bones. "I'd say we could give anybody from that clan a run for their money."

Shikamaru smiled weakly in reply. "Chouji," he winced, finding pain even in the moving of his eyes, "watch out. We don't know the range of their attacks, so they may kill us from miles away."

"Just relax," Chouji looked back, closing his eyes with a grin. "Let me take the center stage today. It'll give me a chance to test my new technique anyway, you know?" He was met with Shikamaru's knowing smirk, giving him the okay to take over as team captain. "Alright, Ino, stay with Shikamaru. See to it that he doesn't get hurt anymore."

"Take care of yourself too," Shikamaru nodded. "Don't go off too far."

"You sound like my mom," the large shinobi laughed. In a flash and a puff of smoke, he became a sphere three times his normal size.

Shikamaru rested his head again. "Maybe when we get back and I'm out of the hospital, I'll treat us all to some yakiniku."

Chouji grinned ever wider, and then rolled off of the tree branch in search of the enemy.

"See? Nothing to worry about," Shikamaru looked up.

Ino sighed and moved to his other arm. "I'd rather you didn't move, Shika," she said.

"No, I'm fine," he tried to shift around, but found himself only able to grunt painfully.

"What did I say?" Ino sat up and put her hands on her hips, glaring at him.

"Trouble woman," he mumbled back. He was met with a silence that lasted several minutes. Medical ninjutsu was not a painful process to undergo, but it was a very strange feeling for cuts to be repaired so quickly, as he could feel the tissues and vessels inside of him shifting and reconstructing to close as easily and fully as possible. He knew that even his bones could be set like this by an expert medic, but when that happened later at the hospital, he would much rather be unconscious. As a shinobi he didn't get sick easily, but the thought of his bones grinding back into place made him just a little queasy.

Instead he looked up at Ino for reassurance. She swore and checked back on her previous efforts. Not very reassuring.

"What does that mean?" he asked, faking a grin.

"Nothing," she replied curtly. "I just forgot to heal a layer of skin in this cut on your arm. It'll still heal, but it may take more time before your body can get it right."

Shikamaru sighed deeply and threw his head back. There were a few clouds by this point, and he spent the next few minutes watching them drift by happily. He was worried that they might blot out the sun completely, rendering his shadow-based jutsu useless for the rest of the day. Not that it mattered anyway; he needed to stay as far from the battle as possible for fear he may be further injured or killed. He was lucky he was even still conscious at this point.

Ino's face suddenly contorted into a look of anxiety as she sat up and put a hand to her ear. Shikamaru couldn't hear what Chouji said, but the message was harried enough that Ino was twitching nervously. He could hear crackly screaming coming from the earpiece.

"Fuck, Shika—" Ino swore, jumping to her feet with a start. She barely had enough time to deflect the incoming kunai—aimed directly at Shikamaru's face—with her own before Suzu materialized at her side, throwing her off the branch with a swift mid-air kick. Nari also appeared above Shikamaru's head, the heel of his black sandal forming an arc en route to a painful collision with his chest. At the last possible moment he rolled to the side onto his broken arm, feeling his bones cutting through his insides as his vision began to swim. The white-haired ninja's foot splintered the worn russet branch, trapping him momentarily while Suzu landed on the other side of Shikamaru. They had begun their seals even before landing. Spinning on his side (and his damn arm), he threw Suzu off his feet with a sweep kick off his good leg. Nari tried to finish what he started with another kick, but his body refused to respond.

"_Kagemane no jutsu_, success."

Suzu landed gracefully onto the branch and froze. He wasn't caught in Shikamaru's technique, but he made no movements at all. Shikamaru stared at his blank eyes as Ino managed to jump back up to their level with an angry grunt. Chouji was still nowhere to be found.

"Hey Shikamaru, watch ou—Oh!" Ino stopped in her tracks when she saw the three of them standing there. "You got them both at once, eh, Shika?" she smirked confidently.

"No… just one."

Ino raised one brow as she realized that Suzu was standing frozen of his own accord, staring vacantly past his partner into the foliage of the tall trees. His empty eyes struck her as almost creepy.

"How…?"

Shikamaru tried to roll off his broken arm, but the pain alone strained his technique and caused his shadows to waver slowly, though not strongly enough to release his captive.

Ino stood as dumbfounded as Shikamaru for several seconds before placing her weight into one leg and crossing her arms in a display of mental victory, grinning at the pineapple-haired genius. "You're blocking his chakra with the shadow bind, right?" she asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, I think they use chakra to transmit their thoughts." She walked up to his lying form and continued to heal his injuries. Holding his chakra for longer than two or three minutes with a _Kagemane_ was no longer a problem at his level. "It's not just that they talk to each other through their weird psychic powers, they can't even function without them, you know? If you take that away, they become vegetables. I wonder if they can even hear us right now." Shikamaru's face lit up with equal parts excitement, impression, and disappointment at not having figured out their strategy himself. "So," Ino continued, "do we just kill them now?" She honestly hated slaughtering their opponents while they were unable to defend themselves due to Shikamaru's techniques, and so wished desperately that this had been deemed a capture mission instead of a kill-on-sight.

Shikamaru felt the same way, and heaved a heavy sigh that put too much strain on his chest. "We'll wait for Chouji to get back and discuss it, but our orders said to dispose of any shinobi suspected of involvement in the kidnapping of Hakuge's wife." Typical textbook answer. "I think we'll need to kill them, Ino. Besides, hauling back prisoners is troublesome."

Ino sighed at him. Honestly, he could be such an ass sometimes. She finished mending everything she could on his arm (being as she was versed in only the most rudimentary of medic knowledge, it wasn't much), and continued to his leg. Shikamaru looked away as she lifted up his pants leg and turned his leg on its side, placing her hands on his calf.

"Did you get him on the radio?" he inquired, slightly breaking her concentration. She scowled back, "I haven't tried yet, but I'm sure he'll call us when he gets close. Right?"

"Well, I'm just concerned. What did he tell you before those two attacked again? It was enough to get you to start up."

"Nothing. Just that they had doubled back on us."

"Well, he hadn't been gone long. Shouldn't he be back by now?"

Ino's chakra suddenly stopped flowing into Shikamaru's wounds. "Oh shit," she whispered. If he were still tracking the twins, he would have arrived by now, she realized; he had slipped one of them with a tracking device belonging to his family that allowed him to roll in any straight line in their direction with his _Nikudan Sensha_ earlier, and there was no way with his speed he wouldn't have rolled back to the main party by now. Ino pressed her finger to hear earpiece and called out, "Chouji? Chouji, are you there?"

There was no reply.

"Go find him," Shikamaru ordered. "I can hold these guys while you do. But don't take too long; there's been enough pain in the ass strain on my chakra today. Plus I kinda want to go home and sleep once we've found the whole mastermind."

"Not with those injuries, you're not. We're taking you straight to the hospital the second we get back," Ino replied, adjusting her mesh bands around her knees.

"Really Ino, I'm fine—"

Ino thwacked him over his head, causing Nari to wince in pain along with him. She leaned in and put her face inches from his, her brows furled in an irritated scowl.

"Fine, fine… just go find Chouji," he moaned at her. She obliged, leaving him alone with the two homicidal, expressionless dichromatic twin brothers. He scratched the back of his neck with his good arm, an act that Nari mimicked while Suzu stood in the same dazed state. The black-haired brother was still unable to move while his thought processes were blocked. All the better for him, Shikamaru thought; he hated to waste what little chakra he had left holding a second victim.

He wished desperately that he could just kill them and be on his way, but he knew both of his teammates would be on his neck if he did, and he didn't want to spend the next few pain-driven days listening to _that_. He agreed with them to an extent, of course. There was a difference between a casualty in the heat of battle, when it was kill-or-be-killed, and terminating a defenseless enemy. Even so, ithat was their job as shinobi: to kill. You didn't question that. He looked up with a sigh at his captives, darting his eyes back and forth between their identical faces. He could feel his energy sapping away as he waited, a sign that his chakra was almost through. There was a time when he could hold a shadow bind for only thirty seconds or so. Since then, he had trained himself to maintain the technique for almost ten minutes at a time.

It had been about nine and a half.

He wanted to call his comrades, but Ino had taken the other radio with her when she left. Shikamaru was stuck alone, knowing that only death awaited him once his shadow retreated back under his own body. Before that happened, he would need to finish them off no matter what Ino and Chouji would rant about for days.

Hell, they had all taken plenty of lives before. Was this such a big deal?

Shikamaru didn't notice when Suzu focused an eye on him. He was busy wrapping his own shadow around Nari's leg, making his way up to his neck for a good snap; killing white-hair would forcibly sever the psychic link the two shared, meaning instant victory. Suzu grinned.

What Shikamaru didn't know was that his chakra was too depleted to continue to suppress Nari's, allowing their telepathic link to reform, giving Suzu control again. He wouldn't let the shadow-nin kill his brother. He made his move.

- - -

Kogoe stood atop a nearby brown, earthen spire observing the battle before him. The fat ninja had rolled himself into one of the iron-hard spires accidentally, knocking him out, so the loudmouth blonde found him and decided to leave him for the time being, finding herself unable to carry his immense girth. He was uninterested in them. Instead, he focused his attention on Shikamaru, who was at the end of his rope physically. Suzu had regained control of his thoughts (and, subsequently, his body) and was about to kill him before he could extend the same courtesy to his brother. The blonde would arrive at his position before that happened though, so he had no doubts that he would escape unscathed. Even if there were a problem, the pony-tailed boy would have thought ahead of them. Kogoe could not help but admire his genius.

Such an asset he would make.

Kogoe felt emboldened enough to join the five of them on the battlefield as a spectator. They wouldn't notice him down there, he knew, as long as he kept his genjutsu up. He wanted front row seats.

He hopped down to them in the trees as Suzu made his first move.

- - -

It was blocked by Yamanaka Ino, who sliced deeply into Suzu's leg with a quickly produced kunai. The surprise was enough to release Shikamaru's shadow bind, allowing Nari to disappear into the trees and prepare to launch another attack, this time against the kunoichi. She was barely able to evade that one, bending far enough backwards that the three shuriken missed her body but tossed upwards a handful of blond hairs.

While she was leaning backwards, Suzu threw his hands together into a quick array of seals to activate a _Fuuton: Chigiri Ha_. The Wind Release: Thousand Cutting Leaves was a ninjutsu that knocked the foliage off of the surrounding trees with a powerful wind and spun them around until they effectively became small buzz saws, flinging them at an opponent. Ino was quick to counter with her own Mind-Body Confusion that acted in a similar fashion to the twins' joint sense-switching attack, cutting or toggling the nerves of Suzu's spinal column until his body was convulsing on the edge of the branch, disrupting his chakra flow and canceling his technique. If she or Shikamaru (who found himself unable to move any part of his body more than a few inches) were to finish the job with one more stroke, that would have been the opportune moment, before Suzu's twitching nerves were able to reconstruct themselves.

Unfortunately, Nari chose that time to continue his assault with two other kaze bunshin, leaping down at his enemies from within the falling leaves. Black tendrils shot out from the shadows of the branch and from the surface of the leaves, stabbing the copies of Nari through the chest and halting their advance. All three disappeared into wisps of air.

"He's not there!" Shikamaru shouted, sitting up with great effort. Then a swift kick got him in the back of the head.

He was blacked out for no more than eight or nine seconds, but when he opened his eyes to a light green haze, Ino was sitting alone on her knees, wiping at a thin trail of blood leaking from the corner of her mouth. He managed to choke out a "hey," which she either didn't hear or chose to ignore. Her eyes were darting around, and Shikamaru realized with disquiet that the twins were still there, watching them, waiting to finish them off, waiting for the opportunity to exact their captain's revenge. This was the worst part of the battle, Shikamaru thought grumpily. "How's Chouji?" he tried again.

This time Ino turned her head to face Shikamaru, and he could see the intensity burning in her eyes that wavered softly as she answered him. "He's unconscious, but other than that he's fine. I made sure they couldn't get to him easily." He nodded. As long as he was safe…

But that further jumbled the already pessimistic mess this battle had become. Ino didn't elaborate on Chouji's current whereabouts incase their opponents were listening. That left the battle a two-on-two affair, but it was a possibility that only one of the brothers needed to be neutralized. Either way, Shikamaru hated the waiting.

When the attack came, it was once again in the form of several shuriken aiming head-on for Ino. She leapt straight backward to evade, and then to the side to dodge another set coming from her right. Once again she produced her kunai from the pouch on her side, using it to block the next two that came from the front, lifting her legs to leap over the three that appeared low from behind. While she was distracted, three more shuriken materialized behind her. She noticed them only a fraction of a second before the first two had sunk into her upper back, tearing at the purple fabric of her shirt. The third planted itself in the bark of the tree branch below her and she barely missed it coming back down. Her legs touched first, but they offered no support, instead folding up beneath her like a piece of cloth, and she finally hit the branch with a thud, grimacing through the pain in her back. If it wasn't a calculated act against one of his own team, and _Ino_ of any of them, Shikamaru might have admired the tactical prowess of the two twins.

They were still out of sight and range at this point, but it was clear that they had used another _Jitsudokushou no Jutsu_, as Ino was once again hunched over exhibiting the symptoms of the attack, including the sweating, shaking, and visible nausea. Then the second attack came, this one another _Chigiri Ha_, lifting into the air a thousand blade-sharp leaves just waiting to rip the confused kunoichi apart.

Shikamaru caught Ino in a shadow bind before he realized what he was doing. The weapons were still hovering in midair awaiting their orders to attack, leaving him only moments to make a split-second decision. He could move her out of the way, risking his well-being and broken body in the process, which, as team captain, could jeopardize their entire mission and put the lives of his teammates on the line. Any seasoned shinobi would tell you that this was the dishonorable choice, and hadn't they all heard the story of Hatake Sakumo who disgraced his village by saving his friends instead? But he couldn't let Ino die for certain by not doing anything, and his body was too injured to simply help her dodge out of the way.

Suddenly, the green razors shot down at her, and Shikamaru rolled himself (and, consequently, Ino) off of the branch in order to avoid it. He felt no impact, no rushing air against his face, no thumping heart accelerating through adrenaline. The green film was back over his eyes, this time joined with blues and reds and a momentary burst of pain ripping through every muscle fiber, bone, and blood vessel in his body, screaming at him, wanting to be over and done with. When unconsciousness hit less than a second later, it was a welcome relief from that horror, and the possibility that he would never wake from it was pushed far to the back of his mind by ice-cold relief.

- - -

For the next three days and nights, Shikamaru dreamt of a man in a dark blue cloak.


	5. Recovery

**Author's Notes:** Yep, I finally finished. Please excuse the dialogue-heaviness in this chapter; I know I'm not amazing at writing dialogue, but I felt I also needed the practice here. Thank you for all of my dedicated reviewers! I really hope you all like this chapter. The next one marks the end of Part I (of 3), and so I might take a break of no longer than a week or so. I start college next Monday, so I may ave to adjust the update schedule according--if this does become an issue, check my profile regularly for updates on my progress. The next chapter is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, September 26 (early with enough support). So without further ado, enjoy! Oh, and review, please!

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Shikamaru found himself in a white bed surrounded by white walls staring at a white ceiling. _Either heaven or a hospital_, he thought with bitterness. He hoped vainly that it was neither. His eyes were unfocused, and if there had been any form of color contrast in that room, he would have found the world appeared as it might when looked at through a thick pane of frosted glass. As it stood, he saw only a solid sheet of white. 

"Shikamaru?"

He tried to turn to the right, but the bandages wrapped around his body prevented any form of movement. He instead moved his eyes slowly to find a tall purple blur rising to a stand, holding a tie-dye club. The figure thankfully dropped the weapon on the ground (surprisingly quiet drop for such a massive-looking stick) and ran the two feet to his side, throwing its arms around him. What followed was a shock of incredible pain and a long train of profanities coming from his mouth. He grimaced and squeezed his eyes shut, and then tried to open then slowly enough that he could focus and adjust to the bright lights in heaven.

Dammit, it was a hospital room after all. There goes my freedom, he thought.

What he had hoped was a club-carrying angel turned out to be Ino, a fact which he noted did not disappoint him in the least. She smiled down at his groggy face, a smile that he could tell she had been hoping to give for some time, and was now able to release at him. It was the smile given to survivors of misfortune. Once again, Shikamaru found himself in that position.

"Ino? How long have I been out? What happened?" He found it difficult to form the words in his state, having to grab blindly at them as they drifted in a sea of fog. The drugs he was given (painkillers, probably) were helping to keep him in a too relaxed state.

Ino placed a gentle hand on his shoulder as she grinned down at him, taking care not to cause him any more unnecessary pain. "About three days," she answered matter-of-factly.

"And Chouji?" The fight before was finally started piecing itself back together again, but the puzzle wouldn't allow him to remember anything past hearing that Chouji was hurt.

"He's fine. He saved your life, you know," she added proudly.

"Is that so." Shikamaru rested his head against the fluffy pillow and closed his eyes. Where is he now?"

Ino laughed, "He couldn't stand the hospital food, so he went out for some sukiyaki. He'll be back in a half hour or something. But it isn't important… how are you feeling?"

"I dunno," Shikamaru sighed. "Everything aches, and when I try to move, it hurts."

"They've mended all of your broken bones, but they still have to heal on their own. The blind guy gave you a beating."

_No shit_, he thought.

"The mission's been given to somebody else," Ino went on, knowing he was going to ask about that next. The team we fought is dead, but we couldn't catch Raikou. He's hiding out someplace in the country."

"What about the man in blue?" Shikamaru asked.

Confusion invaded Ino's blue eyes as she questioned his sanity with a quick glance.

"The man in the blue cloak? With the glasses?"

Ino shook her head. What was he babbling on about? "Shikamaru?" she asked softly.

He just looked away with his eyes, being unable to move the rest of his head. No, there wasn't anyone there. Nobody.

He couldn't convince himself.

"Tsunade-sama wants to see you." Ino broke the uncomfortable silence. "From what I understand, she isn't happy. Nobody is."

"Happy about what?' Shikamaru grunted. If people were angry because of him, it only meant more trouble. He hated being nagged at.

"That you put the mission in jeopardy in order… in order to save me."

The boy scoffed. "Am I going to be lectured for not following the Shinobi Code? Did they expect me to let you die?"

"I dunno, but—"

"Who else is upset about it? The council? The people at the Academy? Our friends? Parents?" Recently, there had been times when Shikamaru would get restless when he learned that his judgment was called into question, especially with regards to the security of friends while on missions. He had almost lost them during his first leadership role, and damned if he was going to make the same mistake twice. If he could move, he would undoubtedly have been pacing angrily around the room, but in his current condition he found it painful almost even to be mad. Heaving his chest would only put unnecessary movement on his shattered collarbone, and scrunching up his face irritated the numerous scrapes and bruises he had accumulated.

They were interrupted by a heavy knock on the door. Ino gave him a look that said to watch himself, and he squeaked out a "come in" as he prepared for his reprimand. The busty blonde Godaime Hokage, Tsunade-sama herself, walked in the room, not even giving a second glance towards her part-time student as she walked to Shikamaru's bedside. "Ino?" she asked without making eye contact, and the kunoichi could only bow slightly and silently close the door as she walked out of the room.

The next few moments, Shikamaru would later recall, were the most awkward. He knew what she'd say, and she knew how he'd respond. However, he'd expect her to simply tell him he messed up and not to make the same mistake twice; what she said instead was definitely out of character.

"So?" she crossed her arms in front of her ample chest.

Shikamaru found he couldn't move his mouth. Although Tsunade was usually stern (and scary at that), she was almost never outright angry. He shrunk back at the anger burning in her eyes now as they stared at him, unmoving.

"Shikamaru…" she began, clearly not knowing how she would finish. "What in the _hell_ were you thinking?"

"I—" Shikamaru averted his eyes from her.

"If this was a simple mission, I'd be glad you did what you did… but we put a lot of money on this one. And you blew it."

"Did you want me to kill her?" he looked back at her. "You wanted me to let her die?"

"This wasn't a kiddy mission, Shikamaru—"

"And that makes it okay to leave Ino to die?" Shikamaru tried not to expend too much energy on troublesome things like arguing, but sometimes his blood could boil. It didn't happen very often, but he could swear he felt it bubbling in his veins. Tsunade didn't cease her vicious glare, but she was never one to back down, not from _anything_.

"You don't understand the logistics of this village."

"We complete the missions, you make the money. We keep our village prosperous by being sent out to do odd jobs by people richer than us, whether it's to paint a fence or assassinate a lord."

Tsunade shook her head. "Only in times of peace, Nara. You've never lived through a wartime environment."

Shikamaru wanted desperately for the conversation to be over, or at least to be able to move so he could rant with his entire body. "You're right. In that case, our job is to act as soldiers. We can be sent to die to keep the village safe. Great."

"That's the job of the shinobi."

"We're not your fucking _tools_!" he spat, looking away. Even from behind, he could still feel the Hokage's glare in the back of his neck.

"Shikamaru…" she began. "Yes you are."

- - -

Raikou Shiba was no longer among the living. Nor was he dead.

He had never been in this place before, had never wandered through the glittering twilight, had never groped around in the imperceptible fog. Here he was blind, a drifting stranger in a dead world, whose only friends were the piles of scattered bones crunching beneath his feet. There were noises—some whispers, some growling—and whenever he heard one, he wheeled around and slipped on a skull or over his own feet and landed, screaming. There were things moving, whether people or monsters, awful hunched things that stumbled around and moaned, _screamed_, wanting desperately to die in a world that forbade it. Raikou was one of those creatures now.

It was a world that was stagnant, like a brown, murky lake, a place that was timeless and dreary. Here, eternity was a day, and a day an eternity. Raikou tried to scream, but the voice that emanated from his throat was hollow and dull, a sound he himself couldn't recognize. He would have felt terrified, but the emptiness of the dead calmed him, sapping his emotion away. He gradually forgot what was wrong and why he was apprehensive. He continued walking, but instead of stumbling in a fevered run as he had been, he simply strolled forward, splitting skulls and femurs beneath his well-shined shoes. He was used to it now. After all, he had always been here, hadn't he? He was born in this world—no, in this timeless world, he was never born, he had never come into being, he had just always _been_. Since the beginning of time, he had been wandering this dark, empty, misty void, with the other nameless strangers that he tried to reach but couldn't, because no matter how close he got, they were never any closer than before. He didn't turn when he heard the sounds of pain, because they were simply a part of his existence. They had always been.

And then there was another kind of sound, one Raikou couldn't recognize, a kind of _whump-whump-whump_ that made his head turn. The sound of footsteps. Had he ever heard it before? The despair that invaded every corner of his mind made it difficult to think back to another time. He knew there had _been_ no other time; this was that that had ever existed, this bleak, empty world, and there was no life before this, right?

But the man in front of him was from that past life. The name _Kogoe_ appeared on Raikou's lips, and he tried to figure out where it had come from. He was dressed in a gray cloak that covered half his body (blue, he thought, but in this world, the only colors were shades of gray) and had two tattoos on his hands: one was a full circle with a crescent inside it, and the other consisted of three ovals with a scar through them. What a strange person, he thought. Very different from the silent shadows that stalked around him.

Kogoe (he thought that's what his name was, but how did he know, anyway?) nodded to him, and so he nodded back listlessly. Raikou didn't know why, but it seemed the proper thing to do. Kogoe continued to stare at him, and then shrugged with a knowing grin. That was all. There was no sound that he was aware of, no pain, or feeling at all.

The dreary emptiness of the world around Raikou faded into the dreary emptiness of death. But he didn't notice; there was nothing in the first place to convince him he was ever alive.

- - -

The three men stared down at the body of Raikou Shiba, forty-two year old crime lord millionaire feared throughout the entire world. They were each wearing colored half-cloaks and straw hats, and each had the same black tattoos on the back of their hands. Kogoe adjusted his rectangular glasses and continued to stare at the corpse on the floor of the hut.

"Had your fun already?" Furitsuke asked, yawning loudly. "For a minute there, I was wondering if you were gonna leave him in your genjutsu forever."

Kogoe continued to stare, not making a sound. It looked as if he was contemplating something important. The fragility of life perhaps, Furitsuke thought with a scoff.

"What a valuable lesson," the third man said. He spoke with a stern, unbreaking voice, pulling his black cloak over his shoulders. "Even those who aren't shinobi are used in the same way, in this age. Everybody is a tool."

"It's the way of life," Kogoe finally spoke up, turning to face the black veiled man. "Nobody can escape this destiny."

"Not without our help," Black-cloak continued.

Furitsuke chuckled, "But it's almost like we've disobeyed even ourselves. We're letting the cycle continue, aren't we? We're the ones who used _him_ for our own gains."

"We cannot break a pattern without first indulging in it. Raikou-sama was a necessary sacrifice."

Kogoe and Furitsuke continued to look to the third man for guidance, but he didn't move. It was to be a meditative moment for the three of them. Finally, after several minutes of silence, he spoke up. "Kogoe, return to Konoha and watch that boy. I expect to see him in this room with us in three months' time. The two of us will continue as planned."

"Yes sir." Kogoe nodded, turning to walk out of the small room and into the streets of the tiny fishing village.

The boss was being lenient. He wouldn't need three months.

- - -

As it turned out, the mission Shikamaru had failed was more important than a simple rescue job. Their client Hakuge Nigeshou was a rich refugee from Gakegakure, the village hidden in cliffs, which lay east past the sea. His brother, the Yamakage, was a strict isolationist, and his was one of the choice few villages Konoha had never warred with simply because Gakegakure never asserted itself into the world spotlight before the time of peace began. Tsunade told Shikamaru that she had never been there, and neither had any of the previous Hokage; most people on the continent were unaware even of its existence. Yet it sounded to be a fairly prosperous village that was never trained for war like the others, and yet was older than the five great ninja villages. Konoha had provided shelter for Hakuge when he ran from home for unknown reasons. Shikamaru, of course, could never indulge this information under penalty of death.

He wanted to scream when the door was slammed behind Tsunade. He wanted desperately to shout obscenities at her, make rude gestures, _strike _her even, and his anger surprised him. Since when did he feel particularly heated over anything at all?

No, he had been close to death a very many times. If Konoha were to go back to war against any other shinobi countries, his name would be high on assassination lists. Since he was twelve, numerous people had tried to take his life, and yet throughout this he had maintained the same level, steady head.

But people didn't talk about the people he cared about most. Nobody told him he should sacrifice Ino for the good of the village. No, that didn't generate good feelings within Shikamaru, no matter who it was that put the idea out in the open, as the Hokage just had. It was a heated discussion (in his opinion, it was only one-way) and Tsunade had definitely not acted in her usual way. In Shikamaru's experience, she had proven to be mostly understanding and sympathetic towards the feelings of her village's ninja, having known their pain in the past, but she had told him that he was expected to discard Ino, her _own student_. No matter the importance of the mission, Shikamaru could see no reason that she would hand out orders of that sort.

So when Ino walked in through the doorway after Tsunade left, he kept his mouth shut.

"How was it?" Ino asked, sitting down in the visitor's chairs against the wall.

Shikamaru decided to lie. "It was a big misunderstanding. We've got it all sorted out now."

"Well, that's good." It was uncomfortably quiet for a few more moments. Ino could read people like books, including—and especially—Shikamaru, and she knew he was lying through his teeth, but she could tell it wasn't an issue he wanted brought up right now. "Hey Shika," she tried instead, standing up, "you're hair's a mess."

"So?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at her as she walked over and started straightening it out. It was down (he was pretty glad for that, because three days of sleeping on a hair band didn't sound like much fun) and Ino found she had to brush strands of it out of his face. "Hey, you haven't told me what happened after I passed out."

Ino smiled as she continued fixing Shikamaru's bed head. "Chouji came just in time to catch both of us. I was caught in their jutsu, so I don't remember much about what happened next, but I guess they jumped back down to finish us off."

"Bad move," Shikamaru grinned.

"Chouji killed the white-haired one pretty quick, and then the other one kind of froze and zoned out because their psychic link was broken. So we had no reason to either kill him or take him with us, and we just kind of left him there."

"So we have no idea where Raikou is?"

"I told you, it isn't our mission anymore. We just want you to rest now," Ino tried to smile, shaking her head.

"Aww, does Shika-kun like having his hair played with?" a teasing voice asked from the doorway.

"It's the bane of long hair. All the troublesome women want to touch it," Shikamaru grinned at his best friend. Chouji had entered and was now at the foot of his bed, munching on a bag of potato chips. Today he was wearing a blue T-shirt and shorts, as well as a white bandage wrapped around his head. Shikamaru winced when he saw it.

"It isn't a big deal," the large shinobi shrugged, noticing his gaze. "I got a couple cuts and a small concussion, but they said I'll be fully recovered either tomorrow or the next day."

"You, on the other hand…" Ino sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, looking down at the shadow-nin. They said you'd take a couple more weeks, maybe a month."

Shikamaru groaned. "I can't wait that long…"

"Tsunade-sama told us we'll be taking a break along with you to help out, but if you're not ready for duty within three weeks, you'll be replaced until you are."

"Replaced? What do you mean?"

Ino sighed. "You know, for such a genius…"

"You'll be back on the team once you're fine again," Chouji said through a third bag of chips unconcernedly. The two were very apparently used to the idea, having been told it days before. He tried to give Shikamaru a reassuring smile, but it was clear that whatever had been said between him and the Godaime Hokage was eating away inside his brain. He just looked to the side, away from his teammates.

"Hey, stop looking so glum," Ino offered, picking up the club she had dropped earlier, which turned out to be a bouquet of flowers. She thrust the artistic arrangement under Shikamaru's nose. "Do you mind if I put these on the table over there?"

"It's not like I can stop you anyway," Shikamaru shrugged with his voice.

"Hey, I spent a lot of time making this for you! The least you can do is thank me!" Ino pouted. He sighed at her.

Chouji clapped his hands together and spoke up. "So, Shikamaru, are you ready to take us out to yakiniku as soon as you're out?"

"What?"

"You promised us, remember?" Ino laughed.

"I did no such thing," Shikamaru shook his head to the best of his abilities.

Chouji raised his thumb and made a show of pointing at himself with a straight face. "I don't forget promises of food, my friend."

"Especially when you're not the one paying for it," the shadow-nin grinned. They both laughed, and were surprised when the third giggle joined in that didn't come from Ino. Sakura and a young trainee nurse holding a heavy clipboard also appeared by his bedside, scribbling notes on forms.

"Forehead," Ino greeted her best friend with a sly grin. They embraced, and Sakura took the clipboard from the nurse-in-training and looked it over.

"Well, Shika, I think you'll be out of here pretty quick, actually. There's been no serious complications with your recovery, but don't expect to go out on any more missions for another month or so."

Shikamaru groaned again.

"Oh, stop that," Ino swatted at him.

"Don't complain," Sakura smiled warmly and professionally, "I haven't had a mission in months. Tsunade-shishou is making me train new medic recruits, so I've been stuck in the damn hospital since then. It' been a bitch… no offense, Izumi."

The younger girl looked up an gave a _none taken_ smile as she grabbed the papers back and continued to write, not feeling in place in this conversation.

"So how's Naruto?" Ino tilted her head with a clever smile.

"Same old, same old. I'm letting him take me out tonight, so I've gonna be out of here in about twenty minutes."

"Where to?" Chouji asked.

"Just dinner, as far as I know. Bet you can't guess where." Sakura added with a sigh. "Which reminds me, visiting hours are over as soon as I leave. You guys can be back at around five tomorrow morning if you wanna see him again; after all, Ino, you _have_ been here every day waiting by his side." She looked over with an equally devious smile.

"_What_ did you say, Forehead?" Ino spat and looked away. "I just felt responsible for getting him hurt, and I wanted to make sure he was okay."

Sakura laughed and turned around, starting to walk out. "Oh, and watch out for shishou," she added, looking back, "she hasn't been very happy today." Shikamaru scoffed.

"Well that's good," the blonde kunoichi said after Sakura had left the room. "At least you'll be out of here by our annual family picnic, right? That'll be fun."

"Right, fun. I'm sure it will—hey Chouji, not to be mean, could you pick up your trash please?" Shikamaru's legs were now buried under a pile of empty chip bags. After Chouji apologized and removed them, he continued, "The only _fun_ part about those parties is our dads and the drunk karaoke." The three laughed.

"Hey Shikamaru, we gotta go," Chouji rubbed the back of his neck with a hand. "It's getting kinda late, and we've been busy waiting for you to wake up and haven't exactly filed out mission report yet."

"No problem," Shikamaru grinned. Ino walked over and left her bouquet gift in a thin vase on the bedside's solitary table.

"We'll be back tomorrow, okay?" she smiled, placed a reassuring hand on his. "Your dad gets back from a mission tomorrow morning too, so he'll also be here. I'm sure he'll be glad to know you're doing well."

"I just hope to get out of this hellhole ASAP," Shikamaru sighed, staring at the ceiling.

"You will. Trust me." Ino removed her hand as she and Chouji walked out of the room and closed the door behind them.

- - -

"So tell me about him. Tell me everything he's said."

"It isn't much so far, because he was drifting in and out of consciousness the whole way here." Chouji leaned forward, his small eyes fierce.

Ino leaned back and tapped her cheek with a finger. "All we know of is a description, and he's totally convinced he was there with us during the battle. But there was no third party, as far as the two of us know."

"I suppose it could be some sort of coincidence or his mind playing tricks on him," Chouji shrugged, "but to hallucinate about the same person over and over again doesn't seem likely, does it?"

The third man looked back and forth between Ino and Chouji through the eyeholes of his ANBU mask. He still wore the same long black hair he had when they were younger, and still held the same aloof, professional attitude; if anything it only became more pronounced once he joined Konoha's secret society. "We can't take that chance. This mission was extremely important to Konoha, and we need to eliminate anybody that stands in the way of its completion before complications occur."

"But how do we find somebody with only a vague description of what they wear? It's not like they can't change clothes." Ino moaned.

"If you run into anybody matching the description given," the ANBU soldier whispered hoarsely, "I am giving a capture-on-sight order, and then you are to take them to the Interrogation Squad." He stood and walked to the window, looking out onto the nighttime streets of Konoha, not turning around when another ANBU agent came through the door.

"They need you to turn in a mission briefing by 0100 tonight, sir," he said quietly.

"Expect it by 1200."

"Were there were no complications sir?"

"Are there every any?"

The younger ANBU bowed and left. When they were alone again, Ino and Chouji stood up and looked at each other. The offices of the Special Assassination and Tactical Squad were never lit, and precious few like this one even had windows or doors that opened without the use of special jutsu. The two members of Team 10 were now subjects of the secret society for the time being, and at any moment could be summoned for interrogation in place of Shikamaru, whose physical condition protected him because he was a citizen of Konohagakure. Once he was fine, he would undoubtedly be taken into one of the rooms for a thorough examination. Ino didn't envy Shikamaru in the least.

"I'll tell you my theory," the ANBU said. "I don't think this was a simple case of crime lord kidnapping baker's wife for personal reasons. I believe this blue-cloaked man hired Raikou to do the job."

Ino shook her head. "But of all people, why some _baker's_ wife?"

"I dunno Ino, I don't think the world could revolve without bakers," Chouji reminded her. "Pastries are both artistic and practical."

The ANBU wanted to get back on topic, and had begun drumming his fingers while waiting. "I believe this blue-cloaked man had some sort of interest in Shikamaru, and possibly cast a genjutsu preventing everybody but Shikamaru from seeing him."

"But if he was a strong enough shinobi to do that, then why wouldn't he kidnap Hakuge's wife himself instead of hiring some thug?"

"He probably didn't want any involvement in the plot. Didn't want to get his hands dirty. If he can hire a disposable perpetrator and then execute him, then will there be any trail to follow? The difficult part is to find out whether he works with anybody, or is possibly a lone missing-nin with an agenda. In any case, I need the two of you to stay with Shikamaru in the hospital in case he decides to show up again. Here are the release forms to show to Sakura to let you stay overnight." He threw a packet to Chouji.

"Do you need us to report back?" Ino asked, turning to leave.

"I'll contact you," the ANBU said, sitting back down in his chair.

"Alright," Chouji opened the door. "Thanks, Neji."

"I don't want him to leave your sight," Neji added from behind his masked, leaning back.

Everybody knew that Hyuuga Neji would get far in life quickly. But an ANBU commander at seventeen? Even Hiashi had been impressed with his nephew. But now that he was only a mask wearing, nameless black ops officer, it seemed only pointless to him to shower praises on an unknown soldier.

- - -

Meanwhile, Shikamaru found that he couldn't sleep. No lights were on in the room aside from the moon splashing a dim glow on his floor and bed, and no visitors were allowed in. He decided to pass the time by staring at the stars in their gradual journey from the right side of the window to the left, trying to count them but forgetting his place constantly in his foggy head. It was one thing to go outside and watch the clouds as his own leisure, but to be _forced_ to laze around… Shikamaru hated that.

And then there was the Hokage, and what she had said. Surely she must have been under an extreme level of stress to get angry that he didn't _kill_ Ino. What the hell was wrong with her, anyway? Tsunade-sama was the last person in the world to advocate sacrificing shinobi for anyway reason.

It had been a very odd week.

Night-shift nurses came by about every two hours for a quick check-up, and the next one was overdue. Shikamaru found himself waiting for the visit, looking around the room at nothing in particular, wanting to remove the ceiling to watch the sky. At least _that_ was interesting. Blank white walls were not.

After becoming so accustomed to the dull emptiness of the room, he jumped when he noticed the man staring at him from the corner. The man cocked his head to the side, but aside from that, he didn't move. All of his facial features were hidden under his wide straw hat, and he wore a half-cloak of a color Shikamaru couldn't discern in the darkness.

It didn't matter. He knew it was blue.

The man took off his hat and placed in on the table next to Ino's vase of flowers, and then pulled his glasses off and cleaned them with his shirt.

"So who the hell are you?" Shikamaru narrowed his eyes at the intruder. When had he come in?

"I'm here to help you," the young man answered back, taking only a momentary look back at the bedridden shinobi before returning his gaze to his glasses.

"Help with what?"

"Everything."

Shikamaru looked away. He had seen only flashes of this man during the battle with Namazu, Suzu, and Nari, faces disappearing back into the trees after only a split second, and then reappearing a few minutes later to watch the battle. He had also been in his dreams since he was knocked out and brought back here, the contents of which he could never remember again, aside from his bespectacled face.

"What exactly does everything mean? I sure as hell don't need any help at all."

"When I'm through explaining, Shikamaru, you'll realize you do," the man said, walking to his bedside.

"Get out of my room."

"Can you stop me?"

Shikamaru realized that he couldn't, and looked away. He wanted to call out to the nurses to come in, but what if the man was here to kill anybody that got in the way? What if he already had? And if he hadn't, he didn't want to put the younger nurses and doctors in any danger for no reason.

"Shikamaru, I'll only say what I need to and leave, and you'll never hear from me again." The young man held bowed slightly, though not deeply like he was trying to sell something. "My name is Kogoe."


	6. Rain PREVIEW

**Author's Note:** This is _not_ the full chapter. This is probably the first third of it, actually (I told it it was long!) I started college around the posting of the last chapter, and as we all know, school comes before creative writing. My midterms are next week too, so I doubt I'll get much writing in between now and then... But seeing as how this is already several weeks late, I figured I'd let you have a quick little preview to whet your appetites. I can't promise a date for the next chapter, but I'm pretty sure it'll be out within the next month. When I finish it, I'll just edit it onto this one. Anyway, enjoy, and because this is basically a beta version of Chapter 5, please tell me how you like it or what I can change! Thanks everyone!

* * *

It took a week and a half before Ino was allowed to help Shikamaru out of the hospital. 

She stood on his left with both hands on his arm, leading through town to his apartment. Chouji was on his right, ready to catch him if he fell, but so far it looked like he was doing just fine. Physically, anyway.

Psychologically, nobody was sure how Shikamaru was holding out. Ever since day he woke up, he hadn't found himself emotionally attached to anybody or anything. When his parents came in to see him the following morning (they couldn't beforehand due to concern over sensitive mission information), he had given one look at them and a "hey," but aside from that almost nothing but one-word answers to the rudimentary questions. He spoke to Ino and Chouji, who were by now almost closer than family, with a flat disinterest in his tone and gray look in his eyes that were never really focused _at_ them but rather at a fixed point behind their heads. But no one was concerned. It was Shikamaru, of course. Nobody gave it a second thought.

Except for Ino.

After a week and a half, his old boring sort of vibrancy was finally returning, and as he was hobbling along with the help of his two best friends, he made the effort to talk and joke cordially. Chouji brought the conversation back to the meal he was owed, and Shikamaru would roll his eyes and smile. It was good to be alive. The thought never crossed anybody else's mind that _they_ weren't, the three men they had killed two weeks earlier, but it crossed Shikamaru's. Ever since that meeting with Kogoe, that thought crossed his mind a lot.

Because they were just doing a job, as Shikamaru was. In this world, soldiers weren't missed.

Ino gripped his arm tightly as he began to pitch forward, having stopped thinking about the rhythmic movement of his shuffling feet, and Chouji placed a large hand on his chest below the fractured collarbone to stop his fall. He dropped his crutch from under his left arm and looked to his side, meeting with Ino's concerned eyes. She gave him a lopsided smile, and he laughed lightly at his own clumsiness. He had just been thinking about something else was all, but he didn't want to let the other two know that his mind was not with them. They didn't know about his visit from Kogoe, and he never expressed his concern over what he told him that night. They were seeds of rebellion, after all, and Shikamaru was trying his hardest not to cultivate them. Trying his hardest not to let them spread.

Because if they did, the entire shinobi world would collapse.

- - -

Neji was growing frustrated. This case shouldn't have been as difficult as it was, but for some reason his squad of ANBU couldn't find the man in blue or the thug he hired to do his dirty work. They had swept through the entire Land of Fire several times in the last week, taking along some of the best chakra sensing ninja they could find, but there was no sign of the targets. He was confident, though, that they were still hiding within the country.

The disappearance of Hakuge Nigeshou threw a wrench into their plans, too. Neji wasn't sure if he had also been kidnapped (unlikely, as they would have caught the perpetrator by now), or if he left on his own accord, and that possibility raised another slew of questions. For instance, how could a lowly baker, who lacked the skills of a ninja, escape through the security of Konohagakure? It was true that his brother was the Yamakage of Gakegakure (a village even Neji had never heard of before the whole mess started), but Neji himself had seen with his Byakugan that Hakuge had never drawn a bit of chakra in his life. None of the figures added up, and so far he could find no leads.

Of course, he was also in charge of handling the public relations with the rest of the village regarding the situation. Citizens had noticed the higher levels of security and increased ANBU activities, and although most thought nothing of it (nothing could ever happen to_ their _village), some were becoming concerned. He had to delegate the task of calming these few people down so that they didn't incite a mass panic. That was definitely _not_ his kind of job.

The next item on his agenda, of course, was. Shikamaru was out of the hospital and so was eligible to be summoned back to the ANBU headquarters for a brief interrogation. Neji hated to put his friends through a day of that, but he hated even more to fail a mission, especially one as important as this.

After all, if something happened to Hakuge, what would his brother and his entire village have to say about it? Neji couldn't stand the thought of single-handedly destroying a decade and a half of world peace, which was why he and two other ANBU officers were now surrounding the members of Team 10 leading their captain home on crutches.

"I didn't expect you so soon," Shikamaru grinned dryly.

"The situation hasn't gone quite according to plan," Neji replied. "We need to speed things up a bit."

One of the other ANBU stepped forward. "We need you two as well. We have a few more questions, and information to give you."

"I thought we were off the case?" Chouji asked, scratching his head.

"Only until you return to active duty in a week and a half. Then you will help with the investigation."

Ino sighed heavily, crossing her arms.

"With Shikamaru's injuries, I don't think he can make it back to HQ as quickly. I'll go on ahead, and the four of you catch up as soon as possible." Neji jumped up onto a nearby rooftop and disappeared from sight.

Nothing could be kept from the ANBU that they could ever want. Pretty soon, Shikamaru knew, the government of Konoha would know everything about Kogoe and the dissident words he spoke.

For some reason, he wished they wouldn't.

It took almost an hour for him to limp across town under the supervision of his teammates and the ANBU bodyguards. He could tell from the grunting from behind their animal masks that they were displeased with the pacing of their route, but without Shikamaru's consent they couldn't just pick him up and carry him to the headquarters, and Shikamaru wasn't giving it. As a citizen of Konoha he still kept basic rights even under the jurisdiction of the ANBU.

By the time they reached Neji it was already mid-afternoon, and the sun was high yet still cold. It would be several more months before the earth would warm up again for the season, and both Shikamaru and Ino found themselves anticipating the climate change. Sure, they liked the crisp air on their skins, but there was something about the Konoha summer and its light green pastels that made the time special, particularly when compared to the wintertime ANBU headquarters, a dreary gray pasted onto sheets of black, all looking dead even surrounded by green foliage. They passed by Neji's office on their uncomfortable walk through the dark, soundproof hallways, and Shikamaru immediately understood where they were going. It was only up for them, to the topmost room of the fortress, the interrogation room where people disappeared for days, even months. He wanted to ask and confirm his suspicions, but he knew no matter how hard he tried, he would never get the ANBU soldiers to let up their vows of silence and indulge him.

Every flight of stairs the group ascended left Shikamaru aching and breathless, his leg throbbing within its white cocoon of bandages and his packaged collarbone collapsing into his chest. By the tenth set of steps, he couldn't move without the help and verbal support of his teammates, much to the guards' added annoyance. They wanted to get their jobs done soon; dinner was waiting for them at home.

If course, it was going to be a long night.

Neji was waiting for them in the middle of a hallway three-quarters the way up the complex, staring at them from behind his white fox mask with his wordless gaze. In his hidden eyes was a look of pity.

"Rooms 1041, 1043, and 1044," he said to the masked soldiers.

"Wait a minute," Shikamaru chimed in, "why do you need three rooms?" He wasn't privy to the secretive way in which the ANBU worked, but he doubted they would require three identical rooms to detain him.

"Three rooms for three people," Neji replied coolly.

Ino stammered and began to speak, but she was cut off as one of the two ANBU behind her grabbed her arm. Chouji took a step forward, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

"Why do you need _them_? _I'm_ the one with the information you need, right?"

"You don't need to raise your voice with me, Shikamaru," Neji looked away, trying to avoid eye contact. "You know this isn't my decision."

Chouji offered Shikamaru an uncertain smile. "It'll be alright," he reassured him warmly as he could, though his cloudy eyes were also cast down to the cold floor.

"These are orders from Tsunade-sama herself. Ino and Chouji will be released very soon, but you are to be kept here for as long as is necessary. If I know you, Shikamaru, you'll be cooking dinner at your apartment by sunset."

"Or treating us out," Chouji added with a wide smirk. "Remember?"

Neji allowed himself a rare laugh. Shikamaru's jovial smile was only a façade, because he dreaded the next few hours of intense cross-examination. Neji nodded at him and led him into a room coldly marked only 1041, while the other two ANBU, Taichi and Koushiro, walked into opposite chambers for the rest of the day.

Inside the oppressively void room Shikamaru spotted only a wiry metal chair fitted with shiny polished silver wrist clamps and a leather strap to tie around his forehead. He regarded the seat cautiously and took two steps forward, resting his hand gingerly on the headrest. He could feel his thundering pulse through his palm and fingertips, amplified by the thin layer of sweat covering his clammy skin. No doubt Neji could sense his nervousness, and that only made it worse; how would Neji interpret it? Shikamaru was a man that had something to hide, something that could destroy the foundation of Konoha.

The Hyuuga held out his arm, motioning Shikamaru to sit in the lone chair. He complied, and Neji reached over him and latched the bindings onto his wrists and ankles. Once he was secure, Neji took a step back.

"Let's get this over with," he droned in a disturbingly monotonous tone.

He began a series of hand seals. The whipping noise of his hands was the only sound in the room, but even so Shikamaru thought it sounded too loud and broad, like the echoes of a surround-sound stereo system. He realized that they were not alone in the room; hidden in the shadows along every wall was an ANBU joining in on the large-scale ninjutsu. How many shinobi were watching him right now? He realized that even Tsunade-sama might have been there, scribbling notes on every word he said, every skip in his pulse indicating a clever lie. This was a much more important meeting than Shikamaru had anticipated.

It didn't matter to him, however. As soon at the hand seals finished forming, he fell into a deep sleep.

- - -

The Yamakage, ruler of Gakegakure, wore light brown earthen robes that scraped against the floor of the office's hallway. He had never been to Konoha before (or any of the other secret villages of this continent, for that matter), but the current state of affairs necessitated the visit, and now here he stood in front of the door of the Leaf Village's Hokage. After a few seconds' wait, Tsunade-sama slowly opened the wooden door of her office and ushered him inside. At post in front of the door stood an ANBU guard that observed the Yamakage with apprehension. As he well should have: his parents were killed in the battle with the Sand and Sound. He would never trust a foreign Kage's word again.

"I'm honored to welcome you to the great village of Konoha," Tsunade remarked with a deep bow.

He reciprocated, plastering a humble grin onto his face. "I hope that this visit precipitates a long friendship and alliance between our distant nations. Long has it been since our respective homelands' foundings, and yet neither has approached the other with any form of offering, be it for peace or otherwise." Together they stood and closed the door behind them. On the other side, still in the hallway,

Formalities were a tiresome but essential aspect of the ruling elite, as Hakuge Aberu's father had always told him. When in doubt, speak eloquently and with big words. The advice was paying off now, as the cordial, yet urgent, visit with Tsunade-sama was proceeding smoothly. She sat him in a decorative wooden chair facing her desk and leaned back opposite him, placing her elbows on the lacquered oak of the counter. The room was brimming with silence. Tsunade began drumming her fingers on the desk, slouching slightly in her chair, waiting for him to make the first move. When he didn't, she leaned in towards him, resting her chin on her intertwined fingers. "Right to business then?" she asked.

"Not to be rude, but…"

"I understand," Tsunade nodded, leaning into her chair again.

Like most in his family, Aberu possessed the ability to understand aspects of others' lives without knowing a thing about them—in his case, it was their pasts. Tsunade-sama, he sensed, was born of noble blood—the first and second Hokage's, in fact—and yet the title of Hokage was not based upon bloodlines, Aberu thought with disdain. He knew that letting just _anybody_ become the leader of a village tainted its reputation. Reputation was everything.

"Where did my brother go?" he asked, getting straight to the point. Tsunade-sama shifted uncomfortably in her chair.

"I'm sure you're well aware of the situation," she reminded him. "You were briefed by our Director of International Relations upon your arrival?"

"I was hoping I would receive a better answer. As I understand it, my brother broke through not only the gate watch but also _his_ watch in the middle of the night. Tell me, Tsunade-sama, how does one escape the strongest shinobi in the world and simply… disappear?"

Tsunade gritted her teeth behind her lips and close her eyes. True, she was _pissed_ at this man, but obviously under these circumstances she had to refrain from expressing her feelings. This was her most important single meeting since her induction as Hokage.

"We believe he was contacted by others," she replied forcefully. "Others who, through a third party, kidnapped his wife as some form of leverage. Because we've never known of Nigeshou's abilities an a ninja, we don't know whether or not he might've broken through our defense force on his own, or how he was contacted by these other individuals amidst our heavy security."

"The brother of a Kage can't break through a few dozen ANBU agents?" Aberu challenged.

"Bloodline ties have nothing to do with a shinobi's performance. I do know that Nigeshou has never gathered a speck of chakra in his life, and thus has never used any form of ninjutsu or genjutsu."

"He doesn't need to."

Tsunade's eyes sparked to life with curiosity. "A ninjutsu user who doesn't use chakra?" she asked, cocking her head to one side.

"How many men do you have looking for him?" Unwavering, as always.

"Eighteen, all around the country. We have another twenty-five patrolling our borders at all times."

"Tell me more about this kidnapping job," Aberu demanded quietly, leaning back and scratching the thick black stubble on his chin. The Hokage found his arrogance irritating, but knew that under the circumstances she would have to keep these feelings to herself. Maybe one day, she'd have the chance to explode in his face. For now, all she could do was negotiate.

"We know a crime lord named Raikou Shiba kidnapped Nigeshou's wife and took her to a small town on the border. The actual job was performed by one of Raikou's teams, which was taken out shortly afterwards by one of our highest-performing jounin squads. Raikou escaped, and we have reason to believe his services were hired by at least two others. We don't know anything about them or their motives." _Well, we do know one thing,_ Tsunade thought to herself. _But only appearances; in about two hours I should have enough information to capture one or both… once Neji's done his job_.

Aberu appeared unamused. "So you don't know why they kidnapped my sister-in-law?"

"We believe she was being used as ransom against Nigeshou," she continued, "and he eventually left, or was kidnapped himself. If that's the case, then we're dealing with a couple extremely high-level ninja."

"I want the task force doubled," Aberu said suddenly.

Tsunade's eyes widened at the incredulous statement. "We don't have enough resources to—"

"Then put as many as you can on the case, and I'll send some of my own. _I want my brother found_. And when he is, I want him the fuck back in Gakegakure by nightfall of that same day." Aberu was a gruff, yet slender, man to begin with, but now he looked five times his original size and eight times as menacing. Tsunade-sama had always been one to hold her ground, but even now she just stared at him, mouth agape, her thoughts forming a mile a minute and practically overflowing from her ears. Aberu's stone face continued to look into her eyes unflinchingly. He was asking the impossible.

"Hakuge-sama, I'm not sure you understand—"

"This matter is of extreme importance within my village, and if Nigeshou isn't found within the next eight days, there's a great chance we may be prepared to go to war."

Instantly a hushed silence descended in the room, hovering, smothering Tsunade within its milky blackness. Whatever good feelings were there five minutes ago when this meeting began were now extinguished, the flames of diplomacy overran with threats of warfare and punishment. Hakuge Aberu, Yamakage of Gakegakure, was wagering a decade and a half of world peace. Could she see the bet?

Tsunade only nodded as Aberu stood and bowed deeply. For him, the meeting was over before he set foot on the ship to Konoha. His steel resolve had settled on this course of action days ago. She found herself immensely frustrated at every aspect of this man's behavior, but she knew if she brought it into question he would not wait the eight days he promised to send his armies. More so than ever, her actions now determined the fate of her village. She returned his bow and led him to the door.

"Won't you stay for at least one night?" she asked him as he was leaving.

"At most, two," he responded cheerfully. Tsunade was more than a little put off by the sudden swing. "But then I must board my ship and return. It's not easy running a village, as you yourself know."

"No, it isn't," she laughed, closing the door behind him. When she knew he was far enough away, she returned to her seat and slumped into it with a heavy sigh, her body filled with liquid lead. She groaned loudly and thought of how the meeting had transpired. It worried her far more than she had let on; after all, if Nigeshou was in another country, what could she do about it? Would the Yamakage believe her and call off the war?

"I'm between a rock and a hard place, Shizune," she laughed. But her protégé was across town, at the hospital, training the new staff with Sakura. "What do you think I should do?" She nodded at the silence, understanding its reasoning. "You're right, as always. Not much I can do in this situation, except find his damn brother. Don't wanna start a war now, do I, Shizune? No, didn't think so."

- - -

Shikamaru opened his eyes to an empty, pallid light, and for a moment thought he was still in the hospital. The details since his release up until his interrogation began gushing back to him, causing him to physically jolt as they smashed their way into his head. It was almost _painful_, and with perfect clarity, but what about after? What about after, when Neji and the other ANBU—

The touch on his shoulder startled him, and when he jumped a second time a shock coursed through his collarbone, causing him to cry out. A voice told him to settle down, and he felt a pair of light-as-air fingers brush softly against his cheek. It calmed him slightly, but the fracture in his neck still hurt like a _bitch_.

"Ino?" he asked faintly with a voice that sounded miles away.

"Yeah, it's me," Ino laughed back softly.

Shikamaru groaned. How many days ago was it that this same situation processed inside the hospital room? Two weeks? When his eyes finally adjusted to the light, he realized he was looking into an overcast sky, and then moaned again—how much fun was it to watch the clouds when you couldn't even tell them apart?

"You've been out for a while," she said quietly, looking down at him. After a pause, she added, "again."

"How long?"

"About a day."

Shikamaru groaned a third time and turned away, making eye contact with a wall.

It wasn't a hospital wall. It was his own house's. He was sitting on the balcony outside his apartment window.

"Do you remember any of it?" she asked, sitting down next to him on the hammock. He tried to roll over, and although the action wasn't so difficult after all this time, he still couldn't do it. Instead he stared up into the clouds and shook his head vehemently. Ino nodded. "It might be better that you don't."

"Why?" Shikamaru's eyes drifted in lazy circles, trying to capture as much of his surroundings as possible, even though he could recall them by memory. Since he had moved out on his own a year before, he had spent countless hours out on the balcony staring into the sky. "And why are we back here?"

Ino glanced at him and ruffled his hair with a giggle. She was definitely sugarcoating whatever bad news she was about to relay, but Shikamaru was too pragmatic to accept or understand her concern. He appreciated it nonetheless. Ino ran her tongue around the insides of her cheeks in thought and then began tactfully, "Neji had a little trouble with the interrogation."

Somewhere in the back recesses of his mind, Shikamaru was not surprised. And for some reason, he felt a semblance of relief.

Because if they knew what Kogoe told him, they'd probably also know how he felt about it.

"He got you to talk in the end but… I think the guy used some kind of jutsu to make you shut up about it," Ino continued quietly. "We're not sure exactly, but now he's on the ANBU's Most Wanted list. Also, it looks like he's kidnapped the client too."

Shikamaru raised his eyebrows as if attempting to look surprised. Kogoe had never appeared to him since that first night at the hospital, but he had left something, a trace of himself… and somehow Shikamaru understood everything that happened beyond his peripheral knowledge, understood the nature of the gears Kogoe and the other cloaked men were turning, understood what lengths that Public Enemy Number One was willing to traverse to see that his plans were carried out successfully.

Did they know about that too?

"How often have you been having those dreams?" Ino interjected concernedly.

Shikamaru jumped at the question, unprepared to be hit by it so suddenly.

"You know you can tell me."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he grunted.

"Shikamaru…"

"It's none of your business."

Ino sighed heavily and threw her hands up in an angry defeat. "Fine," she growled, standing up. "I'm just trying to be here for you."

"Thanks for you concern," he replied coldly. His broken arm was healing well, and he could move it well enough to cross his arms over his chest.

"Why are you doing this?" Ino spat, shooting him an irate glance.

_To protect you_, he thought.

The gray sky cast dim shadows down Ino's face, giving the impression that her cheeks were wet with tears, but Shikamaru doubted any moisture could be found in the blonde's apoplectic eyes. He shifted uncomfortably under their gaze, hiding himself and wishing she would understand that there were some things that he just _couldn't_ tell her. After all, wasn't that the duty of a captain? To defend his teammates?

Ino began to walk away, side-stepping the prone Shikamaru on her way back inside. He wanted to reach out and stop her, but trying to directly calm Ino down was like standing in the way of a raging fireball, and he wanted no part in that. He was expecting her to just walk out wordlessly, but instead she placed a hand on the screen and turned back around. Her eyes never met his. "Don't forget the picnic tomorrow," she stated simply.

"Wait."

Shikamaru worked his way onto his elbows, and then tightly gripped the smooth wooden banister behind him to lift onto one leg. He looked up from his kneeling position to see Ino standing halfway through the glass doorway, staring fixedly on the ground. A jolt of pain shot through his leg as he drew himself onto it, trying to keep his weight off of his injuries. Surprise was the key emotion that kept Ino there, astonishment that Shikamaru would force himself through so much pain just to keep her with him for a few minutes more.

His grimace turned into a labored smile as he finally rose up, still hunched slightly over the railing, one arm hanging floppily over the side into the empty humid air. It was a snapshot of personal achievement.

"I'm sorry," he muttered, turning to stare out over the rooftops of Konoha.

Ino tucked a strand of hair back behind her ear and whispered back, "It's fine." Her voice was cracked with hurt anger and her reply came in the form of a snarl; intentional or not, it made Shikamaru wilt.

She just didn't understand.


End file.
